Densetsu no Sandaime Sannin no Konohagakure
by slavetomyownwill
Summary: 35 years have passed since Naruto Shippuuden. When Nara Tukuto, Momochi Zumoto, and Aburame Zukuari are sent on a mission to defeat Neo-Akatsuki, will they be able to complete it, or will they be defeated? --Complete--
1. Chapter 1: Mission!

Chapter I

Chapter I

Aburame Zukuari and Momochi Zumoto walked into the Rokudaime Hokage's tower on Sunday morning.

"Hey there!" the rowdy-as-always Uzumaki Naruto, Rokudaime Hokage, greeted.

"Hey…" Zukuari said sullenly.

"'Swrong?" Naruto asked.

"She's still hasn't gotten over Tukuto." Zumoto explained.

"I see…" Naruto said. "Well, if it will cheer you up, I have a mission where you might get to see him again!"

Zukuari immediately raised her head and looked Naruto in the eye. "And that would be?" she demanded.

"You are aware of the group of thirty years ago known as Akatsuki, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, of course, it was pounded into our heads back at the academy." Zukuari said.

"Uh…" Zumoto said. Having graduated from the academy in Kirigakure before transferring over to Konoha, his school background was quite different.

"Rokudaime, sir, what is the mission?" Zukuari pressed forward.

"Well…it involves travel. And skill. But I'm sure the two of you can easily do that. I mean after all, you are two of the Legendary Sannin." Naruto said.

"But what is the mission?" Zukuari pleaded.

"You need to travel the world." Naruto said.

"That's it?" Zukuari asked. "Then where does Tukuto fit in?"

"And what does the Akatsuki have to do with any of it?" Zumoto asked.

"Let me finish." Naruto said. "The Akatsuki were all defeated thirty years ago, when I was your age. But apparently, their dream, their mission, lived on. Now, another group with the same dream has formed, calling themselves Neo-Akatsuki."

"And let me guess. You want them destroyed?" Zumoto said.

"Exactly." Naruto said.

"Wait a minute!! To be in the Neo-Akatsuki, wouldn't you have to be an S-Rank Missing-Nin?" Zukuari asked.

"Yes…" Naruto said, while in his mind he grimaced about what he knew was about to be asked.

"Then shouldn't this mission be completed by a team of S-Rank and Jounin?" She asked.

"As you know, the village is in a weak state right now, and most, if not all, of our Jounin and S-Rank are away on missions. So, that means that Chuunin and Genin, until the village's former state is restored, get to complete higher-level missions." Naruto explained.

"I understand that, but how do you expect **two Chuunin** to be able to defeat nine S-Rank criminals??" Zukuari demanded.

"Zukuari, we can handle this." Zumoto said.

"Wow, Zumoto, I had forgot you were even here." Zukuari said, and then instantly switched back to the mission topic. "As I said earlier, where does Tukuto fit into any of this?"

"Well, you two are going to be doing a bit of traveling all over, and I expect that you'll run into him sooner or later. If you can convince him to work with the two of you and defeat the **ten** Neo-Akatsuki leaders, then I'm **sure** he'll discover his old self, and come back with you." Naruto said.

"If he left the village…" Zumoto started.

"**Then what makes you think he'll come back?!"** Zukuari yelled, about to cry.

"Well, one thing I've learned since I became Hokage is that you can never really know what someone will do. But if you press hard enough, eventually, you may be able to help them realize the truth." Naruto said. "That's all. Depart by midnight."

"Whoa!" Zumoto yelled, then calmed down. "Who even are the Neo-Akatsuki?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that." Naruto said. "Because truth be told, I don't even know. Your friend Tukuto has a lot of knowledge on things like these, why don't you find him and ask him?"

"So** THAT'S** where he fits in!" Zukuari exclaimed, pointing a finger at Naruto.

"…No. Because you could figure it out just by asking around. Now as I said, depart by midnight." Naruto said.

"But it's only 18 right now!" Zukuari moaned.

"Then hurry." Zumoto said, and the two left the building.

At 22:00, Zumoto and Zukuari were at Konoha's gates, ready to leave on their mission.

"When do you think we'll see Tukuto?" Zukuari asked.

"Personally, I don't care." Zumoto said. "No matter what his reason was, I'll never forgive him for leaving the village."

"So you're still peeved that you couldn't bring him back…" Zukuari said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"_Tukuto! Come on!" Zumoto pleaded._

"_You're stupid, Zumoto." Tukuto said firmly._

"_Does Konohagakure mean NOTHING to you?!" Zumoto yelled._

"_Zumoto, truth be told, it does. Konoha means a lot." Tukuto said._

"_Then why are you leaving?" Zumoto yelled._

"_Because you know as well as I do what is coming in the future." Tukuto said._

"_Tukuto, I'm going to beat the living crap out of you if you don't come back with me!" Zumoto yelled._

_Tukuto formed a rectangular seal with his hands, and pointed it at Zumoto._

"_SHINTENSHIN NO JUTSU!" he yelled._

_Moments later, Tukuto was controlling Zumoto's body. _

"_Finally, you get to experience the art of the Mind Destruction." Tukuto said through Zumoto's body._

_Zumoto, being controlled by Tukuto, placed his index and middle fingers, on both hands, on both sides of his neck, on each side of the Adam's apple. He pushed in hard. Soon, he passed out, and collapsed on the ground._

_Tukuto, back in his own body, said, "Goodbye…comrade…," departing into the dark forest, leaving The Land of Fire._

"Zukuari…when Tukuto said, 'you know as well as I do what is coming in the future,' what do you think he meant?" Zumoto asked.

"He had connections all over the place. It could have meant anything…do you think he meant this? The Neo-Akatsuki's plan for world domination?" Zukuari asked.

The gates opened, and the two walked out. The gates shut behind them.

"I'm not sure…let's stop talking about this and get on with the mission. Where should we go first?" Zumoto said.

"How about Sunagakure? I've always wanted to go there!" Zukuari giggled.

"Sure, and besides, Tanzaku City is on the way, we can make a stop there. It's a three day walk to The Village Hidden in the Sand, and we might as well stop half-way." Zumoto said.

"I like it!" Zukuari exclaimed.

The two departed down the dirt path, completely oblivious to the brown-haired teenager crouching in the trees, watching them.

_Sounds like they're on a mission…that involves me. _He thought.


	2. Chapter 2: Assassination Attempt!

Chapter II

Chapter II

Very close to Otogakure, the Village Hidden in the Sound, a blonde figure walked. She wore a long black cloak, with red cloud patterns. Her scratched-up Iwagakure headband was tied around her forehead. She approached a large boulder. She concentrated Chakra into her foot, and kicked it away, revealing a stairway into an underground cavern. She walked in, and then moved the boulder back over the hole. She stood in the pitch black darkness, waiting.

The road to Tanzaku was long, but by noon of the second day, Zukuari and Zumoto had arrived.

"Do you think…we'll find Tukuto here?" Zumoto asked.

"I doubt it. If I know Tukuto, the sore loser that he is, then he would be hiding as far from Konoha as possible. My bet is, he's either in Sunagakure, Kumogakure, or Iwagakure." Zukuari said.

"But the average ninja would expect him to distance himself as far as possible, so he must be hiding very close to avoid detection." Zumoto said.

"But Tukuto knows they would expect that, so he would hid far away, as I said." Zukuari said.

"Look, Tukuto may be really smart, but that doesn't mean-"Zumoto said, and gasped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a teenage boy, with brown hair in a ponytail. The boy looked back at Zumoto, and smiled.

_So we meet again…_The teenager thought, and walked away.

"What?" Zukuari asked.

"Nothing, it was nothing." Zumoto said. _But it looked like…nah._

"Zumoto-san…" Zukuari said.

"huh?" Zumoto replied.

"I don't think we should be here." Zukuari said.

"Uh…okay, then…should we just go on towards Suna?" Zumoto asked.

"Yeah, let's get going." Zukuari said.

Back at the village…

Haruno Sakura frantically ran into the Hokage's tower later that day.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"**A Neo-Akatsuki is attacking!!**" she yelled, panting.

"I'll handle 'em. Who is it?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, Waterfallnin, headed towards the palace." Sakura said.

"Sakura-Chan, leave." Naruto said, and Sakura disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Soon afterwards, the door to Naruto's office was kicked open.

A lady in a black cloak with red cloud patterns walked in.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" she said, with her eyes closed.

"….." Naruto was silent.

The attacker had five senbon in each hand.

"Not those damn senbon again…" Naruto moaned, before using the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and creating a shadow doppelganger for the fight.

Southwest of Tanzaku City, Zukuari and Zumoto walked down a cement path until it ended.

"Does the trail end…?" Zukuari asked.

"I've never been out here…" Zumoto said.

"Sakura-sama never took me out this way." Zukuari said.

In fact, none of the new Sannin had been outside of the Land of Fire during training or missions. When they did travel into other countries, they had never gone to the Land of Wind, or Sunagakure.

"Let's just keep going southwest until we find something." Zumoto said.

"Boy, your navigational skills show here." Zukuari said sarcastically. "You know, we could just…never mind."

The two continued to walk across the open plain.

"This is boring, something needs to happen." Zumoto said.

Several meters behind them was the brown haired boy from Tanzaku.

_They want something to happen, huh? Well, wait till they see __**this**__!_

_Wait, no. I better not reveal myself yet. _

The border was up ahead.

The two ninjas crossed it without thinking twice.

_Hmm…now that they're in a different country, Konoha can't send help to them unless Suna calls for it._

"We've still got a whole day of travel ahead." Zumoto said.

"Wouldn't it be nice if Shimotu-sensei was with us?" Zukuari asked.

"Sure…" Zumoto agreed, though inside he didn't really care.

A very small hump of sand rose up near them, but they didn't notice.

What appeared to be a pair of eyes rose up out of it and looked around.

Noticing the two ninjas, it sunk back down and disappeared.

_Looks like we've got company…_The Godaime Kazekage thought, looking through an orb at the two Sannin.

"Gaara-sama!" Rinkashi yelled, bursting into his office.

Gaara remained calm. "What is it?"

"Konoha is under attack!!" Rinkashi yelled.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Zumoto stopped in his tracks.

"This desert is so hot…" he complained.

"Yeah, and there's NO shade! How are we going to sleep tonight?" Zukuari moaned.

"Tomorrow we'll arrive in Sunagakure. If we can keep walking until then, we'll arrive there in the morning, and we can rest there." Zumoto said.

"Alright." Zukuari sighed, and they continued walking.

"What makes you think you can barge into Konoha and do whatever you please?" Naruto demanded.

The enemy laughed. "I always have been able to do whatever I want. Coming from the Village of Waterfall, where there is no military force, nothing can stop you from fulfilling your true goals."

The shadow clone instantly started applying forces of Chakra to Naruto's hand. Soon enough, the original Naruto was holding a ball of blue chakra and running at the enemy.

"**RASENGAN!**" He shouted.

The enemy raised an eyebrow, and ducked. The attack missed. She then poked the back of Naruto's knee with a senbon, and he jumped in surprise.

"Silly little Naruto…don't you know what true power is?" she asked.

"Shut up." Naruto said angrily.

The attacker quickly formed hand seals, and yelled, "Hidden Waterfall technique!" A puddle of water instantly was under Naruto's feet, and streams of water were climbing up his legs. They branched off, and soon was tying him in place.

"What is this?" Naruto demanded.

"You have no clue." The attacker said. "The true battle is just about to begin."


	3. Chapter 3: X397 of the ANBU

Chapter III

Chapter III

"Byakugan!" Zukuari yelled. Being the daughter of Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino, she had inherited the Byakugan kekkai genkai, and since she had that, she was not given the beetles of the Aburame clan.

Veins popped on her forehead. Her eyes turned even whiter than before. She looked around, and looked for a source of Chakra, an animal. They needed food.

She soon deactivated the Byakugan. "I got nothing." She said.

Zumoto sighed.

"Well, I think Sunagakure is a few miles away." He said.

"Let's just get there and _buy_ food…" Zukuari sighed.

Something pinged in Zumoto. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw…someone, up in the air. She was in a black cloak, and soaring down from the sky.

Once she landed, Zumoto and Zukuari noticed she was in black tight pants, and had a white armor tank on. She wore an white and red wolf mask over her face.

"Momochi Zumoto? Aburame Zukuari?" she said.

"You're in the ANBU!" Zukuari exclaimed, then her expression turned to horror. "What happened?"

"Three things." The ANBU said, and began the list. "Rokudaime-sama is dead."

Zumoto gasped.

"Two. Nara Tukuto was spotted in Tanzaku city."

_I knew it_, Zumoto thought, as Zukuari smiled with joy.

"Thirdly, I've been assigned to this mission."

"Who are you?" Zumoto asked.

"An ANBU should never reveal identifiable information." The ANBU said. "However, since I was sent to help you on the mission, I can tell you that I am Agent X397." She said.

"Is that what we have to call you?" Zukuari said, with a dull tone to her voice.

"I don't care what you call me." The ANBU said.

"We're going to be working together for quite a while now, why can't we know your name?" Zukuari inquisitively asked.

"Zukuari, since we know Tukuto is in Tanzaku, should we go back there?" Zumoto asked.

"Rather than actually going to Tanzaku, I think we need to travel to Kumogakure." Zukuari said.

"That's got to be six days from here." X397 said. She pulled off the cloak and threw it on the ground, revealing her blonde-brown hair.

X397 then had a suggestion. "I know the Kuchiyose no Jutsu, and I can summon us a hawk to get around much faster."

She pulled out a kunai, stabbed herself in the finger, and spread the blood on her hand. She—fast as lightning—formed the hand seals Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Sheep! She slapped her hand onto the ground.

In a large cloud of smoke, a very large hawk was before them.

"What do you need, Master Ri-" the bird started.

"NO!" X397 yelled. "Don't call me by name."

"I understand."

"Now, Rikameime, fly us to Amegakure." X397 said.

"The Village Hidden in the Rain? But why?" Zukuari asked.

"Never doubt an ANBU's reasoning." Rikameime said.

The three climbed onto the giant hawk and sat down.

Causing a large dust cloud to form, Rikameime flapped her wings and soared into the air at top speed.

"You know, X397, _we_ can also perform the Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Zukuari beamed.

"I expected so." The ANBU replied monotonously.

Zukuari quietly whispered to Zumoto, "Impressing her is difficult."

"I heard that." X397 said.

A large crack of thunder. Heavy rain.

"Excuse me, Master, but, I can't fly in this rain. I'll have to let you off soon. Amegakure is only a mile away." The bird said politely, and swooped down.

The three ninjas hopped off, and instantly the bird disappeared.

Soon after, the rain had let up.

"Try summoning her again." Zukuari suggested.

"No."

"Shouldn't we head to Tanzaku to find Tukuto?" Zumoto suggested.

As expected, the ANBU shot it down immediately.

"You've all heard of the former Akatsuki member Pein, right?"

Zukuari and Zumoto nodded.

"He came from Amegakure, and wielded the Rinnegan. The Neo-Akatsuki that killed Naruto also has it." The ANBU explained. "Do you know what we're up against?"

"Yeah, yeah, S-Rank criminals…blah, blah." Zukuari said.

"Blah, blah." Zumoto added.

Though they could not see through the mask, they suspected X397 was giving them _the look_.

"We can't just dilly dally and go wherever, whenever." X397 said.

"Rokudaime specifically said, _find Tukuto, he can be a great help on the mission_." Zukuari argued.

"Too bad. I'm in the ANBU, you're not. I rank above you, I am superior, you do as I say."


	4. Chapter 4: Uchiha Kimika of NeoAkatsuki

Chapter IV

Chapter IV

"_Too bad. I'm in the ANBU, you're not. I rank above you, I am superior, you do as I say."_

This same sentence dug through Zukuari's mind all day. It kept repeating, never ceasing, until finally they arrived in Amegakure, where something else occupied her thoughts.

More ANBU were there. Their faces were masked, similar to X397. Once they saw the Sannin and the other ANBU, they instantly teleported away, as if some strange fear had overcome them.

"You two know that when the original Akatsuki were defeated, all nine Bijuu were released, right?" X397 asked.

"Yeah, yeah. What about it?" Zumoto asked. He wasn't into a history lesson, and neither was Zukuari.

"Most of them were resealed into new people. Right now, the Neo-Akatsuki should be seeking out the Sanbi." X397 said.

"So?" Zukuari said monotonously.

"We need to protect him." X397 said.

"No thanks. You see, our mission was to _defeat the Neo-Akatsuki_, not protect the Jinchuuriki." Zumoto said.

"You will do as I say." X397 said.

"We won't. You're being a jerk, and we're no longer working with you." Zumoto said. "Come on, Zukuari, let's go."

The two Sannin left Amegakure in that instant, and began to go to Tanzaku city, to find Tukuto.

Once they were out of sight of Amegakure, they ran into someone.

The woman had black hair in four odangos. Her headband, a slashed-out leaf, was tied around her neck. She had black cloak on it with a red cloud pattern. Her fingernails and toenails were all painted purple. She had pure black eyes. They looked as if they contained more secrets.

"You…you're the prodigy of the Uchiha clan! Uchiha Kimika!" Zukuari yelled.

"Seems as if I can't get anywhere without being recognized…" Kimika said, giving Zukuari a cold stare.

Her eyes suddenly turned red. The pupil stayed the same, but in the red iris, three tomoe appeared. Her eyes stayed like this for a moment, before shifting to a new appearance.

"Mangekyo Sharingan! Tsukiyoomi!" Kimika said.

Zukuari gasped.

_Zukuari was tied up laying in the corner of a dark room. _

_Kimika walked in, holding two very large katana._

"_What…what are you going to do with those?"_

"_Silly little girl…trembling in fear…as expected from the daughter of Hinata…"_

_She tossed both katana into the air, and they landed in the wall, on each side of Zukuari's face, missing by an inch on both sides._

_Kimika formed the sign of the tiger, and said, "Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Fire slowly crept up the ropes, and onto Zukuari's skin, causing the Sannin to scream in pain._

_The fire did not cease. It stayed in contact with the skin creeping up and down her legs and arms, torturing her._

Zumoto ran behind Kimika.

"_Kai!" The fire dispersed._

_Kimika lifted up the helpless Sannin and threw her against the wall headfirst._

The Genjutsu ended when Zumoto struck a blow with his fist to Kimika, causing her to lose focus.

Zukuari yelled in pain, and doubled over.

"I will destroy you. All of Neo-Akatsuki will destroy you." Kimika said.

"Why is Neo-Akatsuki still here?" Zumoto demanded.

Kimika quickly formed seals, and teleported away.

Zukuari was unconscious on the desert ground.

"Crap, I'm no medic-nin!" Zumoto cursed, not knowing what to do.

Zumoto was unsure of whether to leave his teammate and go seek help, or to stay with his teammate, unable to help.

"What do I do, what do I do?" he moaned.


	5. Chapter 5: Reunion! The third Sannin!

Chapter V

Chapter V

"Sir, I think I might return…" a brown haired teen said to an old man said standing next to him.

"But…! Why?" the man demanded.

"I set a spy into the desert, a ball of Chakra…it showed me…my former teammates. They were attacked by Uchiha Kimika of the Neo-Akatsuki." He said.

"But…that's no reason!" the man yelled.

"Just like them, I'm a Sannin. And I must help them." The teen said.

"Why?" the old man asked, bewildered.

"Arkusha-sama, my loyal advisor…" The teen said. "My friends and I made a pact when we were Genin."

"_Why didn't you help me?" Zukuari yelled at Tukuto._

"_You're a tough gal, you can handle yourself." Tukuto said to her._

"_That bear was about to devour me!" Zukuari screamed. "You just sat and watched!"_

"_Stop it!" Zumoto yelled. "Why don't we make a pact?" _

"_What kind of pact?" Tukuto asked._

"_If we're in trouble, the others will come save us." Zumoto explained._

"_Sure, whatever." Tukuto said._

"_I'm in!" Zukuari enthusiastically shouted, pumping a fist into the air._

"You know, I was never good at teleportation, but I'm great at the substitution Jutsu." He put in the hand seals: Tiger, Boar, Ox, Snake. "Punch me."

Arkusha punched the teen right in the face.

He disappeared.

A large cloud of smoke appeared.

"Huh?" Zumoto gasped.

Kimika was back.

She had a windmill shuriken in her left hand.

"Zumoto-san, are you ready to die?"

"HELL NO HE ISN'T!" a male voice yelled, and the teenage boy soared through the sky, delivering a kick right to Kimika's face.

Zumoto gasped. "Tu…Tukuto?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out, dude." Tukuto said.

Zumoto got up. "Let's do this!"

"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Tukuto yelled, and a doppelganger was next to him. It focused chakra into Tukuto's palm…

"Ox, Rabbit Monkey!" Zumoto yelled, forming the seals, "CHIDORI!"

"RASENGAN!" Tukuto yelled.

The two most powerful attacks of the male Sannin were being hurled at Kimika.

They hit her dead on.

Kimika took the hit, and jumped straight into the air, and swiftly flew back down, slamming her fists onto both boys' heads.

They grunted in pain.

The doppelganger of Tukuto ran at Kimika.

She punched it in the nose, and it dissipated.

Tukuto looked at her dead on.

Another Tukuto, from behind, stabbed her in the shoulder with a kunai.

"There were three?" she gasped.

"Yup, 'cause that's how I roll." Tukuto said, keeping his cool.

Kimika scowled. "I better go. My teammates await." She hastily made hand signs, too fast for anyone to predict what she would do, and disappeared.

"What's up with her?" Tukuto asked, shaking his head in the direction of Zukuari.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan." Zumoto said.

"Ahh…the almost flawless Jutsu of the Uchiha clan…it forms an optical illusion in the eyes of the victim, and can only be executed if the victim looks the user in the eye…after that, it's almost impossible to break." Tukuto said.

"Someone's been busy the past six months…" Zumoto said.

"Why'd you just lay her down?" Tukuto asked.

"I'm no medic-nin, I don't know how to bring her out of this." Zumoto said.

"Jeez…" Tukuto moaned, and reached into his backpack. He pulled out a bottle.

"What's that?" Zumoto asked.

"A friend of mine made it. Pour it on someone, and they instantly wake up." Tukuto said, and flipped the lid off. He dumped the bottle on Zukuari's face, picking on her, as always.

"Wha…what happened?" she said sleepily, as her eyes shifted open, looking Tukuto in the eye. "WHAT?"


	6. Chapter 6: Protection?

Chapter VI

Chapter VI

The Genjutsu was still affecting Zukuari. Through her eyes, she didn't see her former teammate, she saw Uchiha Kimika.

"I will destroy you!" she yelled, springing up onto her feet, and forming the hand signs: Tiger, Snake, Rat, Tiger. A green aura of chakra suddenly enveloped around her hand. She moved closer to Tukuto, who she thought was Kimika.

Tukuto, immediately noticing that she was about to use the Chakra Scalpel, jumped back as fast as he could.

"Zukuari, I don't want to do this, but…" He made his own hand signs: Dog, Snake, Bird, Tiger. "Reversal Jutsu!"

Events flowed backwards for Zukuari; soon she was asleep again.

"I don't think I'm going to wake her up this time." Tukuto said.

"Who was the guy who made that potion?" Zumoto inquired.

"A friend." Tukuto said. "That's all I'll say on the matter.

"Lord Kazekage…" Rinkashi said softly. "Why…why me?"

"You're grandfather trained me in the arts of ninjutsu. Thank him for this honor." Gaara said.

"But…no! Just because Baki is my grandfather-" Rinkashi started.

"Exactly." The Kazekage said gently.

"But I don't want to!" Rinkashi complained.

"Rinkashi, I need this from you. You are the last of the Sannin of Sunagakure, I need you to do this…" Gaara said.

"Must I?" Rinkashi moaned.

"Well, if you don't want to accept this mission, you don't have to, but…" Gaara looked down solemnly.

"Alright, fine. I'll do it." Rinkashi said.

"Thank you." The Godaime said, and waved his hand away, signaling Rinkashi's leave.

"So what are you going to do about Zukuari?" Zumoto asked.

"Well, she's the medic-nin!" Tukuto scowled at her. "You know I can't do medical jutsu."

"Well, if you've been gone for six months gathering intelligence, I'm sure you'd have picked up on some things." Zumoto said.

"Well, if you expect me to learn things for people that I no longer affiliate with, then forget my help." Tukuto said. He formed a few hand seals, and disappeared.

"Damn it. Now what?" Zumoto scowled.

"There is _that_ technique that Sasuke-sama taught me…but I don't think I should use it now…" Zumoto thought aloud. "I guess I have no choice."

He pulled out a scroll and opened it. He bit his thumb, and slid the blood on the scroll. He made the signs boar, dog, bird, monkey, sheep and hit the ground. A large barrel appeared, and he took the lid off. He lifted Zukuari into it, and snapped the lid on.

"This should keep her safe for now."

He then made the sign tiger, clapped his hands, and pushed them downward towards the ground. Smoke arose from everywhere, and the barrel was sealed shut.

He then sat down, waiting for someone, anyone, to come.

"I'm an ex-ANBU, but I still remember a way to contact them…" he said to himself.

He focused Chakra into his mind, and released it in a single shot towards Konoha.

"Hopefully, they'll understand the message." He said, tired. The secret communication technique used up a lot of Chakra. He sat down, and leaned against the barrel.

"We will secure him, right?" a male Neo-Akatsuki asked of his teammate.

"You think that I'm strong enough to kill a Hokage, but not strong enough to capture a ten year old boy?" the Neo-Akatsuki who killed Naruto snapped.

"When will we make our move?" the male asked.

"Soon. Very soon. But for now, we wait." The female said.

The two made the sign of the ox, and blended into the outside wall of the Konoha gate.


	7. Chapter 7: Begin the Funeral: Mourning

Chapter VII

Chapter VII

Nara Tukuto, on his journey to Kumogakure, stumbled upon a large, ancient, building with the resemblance of a fighting dojo. He slowly approached it, and slid open the door.

Walking inside, he noticed that the inside looked quite new. He slid the door shut, and started walking around the huge room. It was empty of people, but all around on the floor were several human-sized pads, each with a blanket and a thin pillow. Tukuto raised an eyebrow at the sight, wondering what on earth the place could be. He walked into the only other room in the building, where he jumped at the sight of an old man sitting on a similar mat.

"Welcome. Who might you be?" the old man asked.

"I don't give my information out to strangers." Tukuto said.

"I see." The old man asked. "Why are you here?"

"I just found this place on…a walk." Tukuto said. "What is it?"

"It's a shelter. Rogue ninja come and go everyday. Some stay for weeks, others stay overnight." The man explained. "In fact, a man just about your age left about an hour ago."

"Did he say what village he was from?" Tukuto suddenly asked.

"He didn't say. He was wearing a hitae-ate, but I never saw what symbol it bore." The man said.

"Hm. Thanks, I have to go." Tukuto said, and left in a hurry.

Outside, Tukuto looked around. He couldn't see any sign of someone's tracks. He cursed silently, and continued his journey to Kumo.

_I should arrive there in about half a day, _he thought.

Zumoto sat silently by the large wooden coffin, which resembled an oversized barrel.

Hours earlier, he had sent a help signal out to the ANBU, whom he used to work for. As of yet, the signal made no difference.

Zumoto looked in the distance, and saw a figure approaching slowly.

He weakly stood up. The desert heat was getting to him, draining his energy.

The figure arrived. She bore a Sunagakure hitae-ate across her forehead. She looked at Zumoto and said, "Damn, what happened to _you_?"

Zumoto was too weak to speak.

The red-haired konoichi supported Zumoto by leaning him on her shoulder, with his arm around her neck. "Don't know how I'll lift that coffin, too…" she sighed. "My name's Rinkashi."

Zumoto was already out.

She set him down, and formed a few hand signs, and the coffin and Zumoto disappeared.

"All right, they're in Suna now, hope things will get better." Rinkashi said.

Twelve days later…

Agent X397, or actually known as Inuzuka Rinkuji, had left Amegakure and was back in Konoha. She was waiting for Zukuari and Zumoto to return. Konoha had sent a message to Sunagakure asking for their return. Uzumaki Naruto, the late Rokudaime Hokage, was due to be buried that day. All of Konoha was invited to the mourning.

"His face was just completed on the wall last year…" Shikamaru sighed. He put his arm around his wife's waist.

"Shikamaru, are you alright?" Ino asked him.

"Tukuto loved that guy." Shikamaru replied. He looked down at his feet. "I remember how excited he was when Naruto decided to personally take him on as an apprentice."

"Honey…" tears welled up in the eyes of both of them as they reminisced about their son, Nara Tukuto.

Hinata was leaning her head on Shino's shoulder as tears streamed down her face.

A huge crowd had gathered by now. Among it were several ninja, about an eighth of them were Naruto's classmates and comrades.

The Hokage's advisors stood by the coffin in the front. They stared at the picture of Naruto sitting on top of it.

Zukuari and Zumoto arrived shortly. They proceeded to around the middle of the crowd, where Zukuari went and stood with her parents. Zumoto went over and stood by the children from the Konoha Ninja Academy.

Near the back of the crowd was someone noone had expected to see here: The Grand Kazekage, Gaara. He looked with longing eyes towards the coffin in the front of the crowd. Next to him was someone also unexpected. His name was Nara Tukuto.


	8. Chapter 8: Catch Tukuto, Quickly!

Chapter VIII

Chapter VIII

Ironically enough, there were no clouds, no rain, and no wind during the funeral. The weather was bright, sunny, and the perfect temperature.

The Kazekage looked up into the beautiful sky. The sun beamed down on his face. _This weather is strange,_ he thought.

By the time the ceremony was over, nearly everyone was in tears.

The female advisor of the Hokage said to the crowd, "Times are sorrow, but it is not the time to weep. It is now when we must be strong."

The male added to that, "We will begin consideration for the Shichidaime Hokage immediately."

With that, the crowd began to disperse. It was within twenty minutes that everyone was gone except one ninja.

Nara Tukuto stood alone by the coffin. Tears were in his eyes. He reached out to lay his hand on it, but hesitated for a short moment. He then touched it slightly, as if to make sure it was real.

He stood there for a bit longer. It was amazing that no one had yet noticed him, a missing-nin, in the village.

He raised his head, and looked up at the clear sky.

_Naruto-sensei, who did this to you?_

The advisors were in the Hokage's palace with a crowd of Jounin, most of them former cell leaders.

The female said to the group, "If we were not stricken with this tragedy, the Jounin Selection Exams would be held, starting this Monday."

"Does that mean the exams are postponed?" one of the cell leaders, Shimotu, asked.

"Precisely. Instead, they shall be held as soon as the Hokage is selected." The other advisor said.

"Now, I beg your leave. We must consider the Hokage." The female said, and the Jounin left.

After the Jounin were out of hearing range, the advisors began to converse.

It was only twenty minutes later that they had their top choice.

Zukuari leaned against the railing on top of Hokage tower, looking at all the previous Hokage on the wall.

She looked at each one for a long moment, starting with Senju Hashirama, the Shodai Hokage, builder of Konohagakure, and ending with Uzumaki Naruto.

Zukuari was soon accompanied by an old friend. Nara Tukuto stood next to her, also looking at all of the Hokage. He didn't have his hair in a ponytail at that point; his hair went down to his shoulders. He also had his flak vest unzipped and open, showing his navy t-shirt underneath.

His hands were in his pockets.

"People giving you crap?" Zukuari asked.

"Yeah." Tukuto sighed.

"I won't." Zukuari said.

"I know." Tukuto said.

"Tukuto, what made you want to return?" Zukuari asked.

Tukuto didn't answer her question.

_The three Sannin, the Rokudaime Hokage, and the advisors sat in Naruto's office. _

"_We need to discuss the matter of the Chuunin Exams. We wish for you three to be the proctors." The Rokudaime said._

"_Hokage-sama! We can't do this right now! Postpone the exams!" Tukuto said._

"_Nara Tukuto! Be silenced at once!" the female advisor said._

"_Tukuto, why do you think we should postpone them?" Naruto asked._

"_I've been doing some research, and an assassination is being planned against you, sir Hokage!" Tukuto yelled._

"_That couldn't possibly be." The male advisor said. "And besides, if someone was trying to assassinate the Hokage, he or she wouldn't be able to. Our military force is very powerful, and besides, even if they could overtake our military, we have the ANBU. And if the ANBU were defeated, which isn't likely, the Hokage is a very powerful man. He would be able to stop whatever is coming."_

"_That may be the case, but even so, you should take necessary precautions, and postpone the exams." Tukuto said._

"_Tukuto, I don't think," the female advisor started, but Tukuto was already gone._

_At his home, the upper story of the Yamanaka flower shop, Tukuto began packing. He stuffed five sets of clothes into his backpack. After that, he stuffed as many scrolls as he deemed necessary, which was seventeen. He then shoved in his weapons pouch, and zipped his backpack, although it took quite some effort. At about two a.m., he jumped out the window into the tree branch. He hopped down, and took the only road out of the village. _

_Right outside the gate stood two of his friends, Zukuari and Zumoto._

"_This is the only way out." Zukuari said. "We're not letting you out."_

"_Really? I don't think so." Tukuto said. He formed a hand seal, and quickly had a dozen shadow doppelgangers, which quickly overtook the other two. Tukuto quickly departed. Zukuari managed to escape the clones, and started chasing after._

_Zumoto was about a minute behind her. "We have to stop him!" _


	9. Chapter 9: Failure

Chapter IX

Chapter IX

_Zukuari was hot on the chase._

_It was only two hours, and she had already caught up to him. _

"_Tukuto-kun, leave this village, and I'll personally hunt you down and kill you." She yelled at him._

"_Really? Well, looks like you'll be killing me in a few years." Tukuto snickered._

"_Tukuto, this isn't the time." Zumoto said, joining in on the scene._

"_Finally, we get some fun."_

_All three, convienently at the same time, slit their finger with kunai and spread it on their arm. They each formed the signs: boar, dog, bird, monkey, sheep, and then slammed their hand on the ground, yelling: Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" _

_They were each rose up into the air by a massive Kuchiyose, Tukuto on a large toad, Zukuari on a large slug, and Zumoto on a large snake. The snake, Nista, glared at Gamaforsta, Tukuto's toad. Mikuzi, the slug, was silent._

"_All right, Tukuto, you're coming back, even if it costs us our lives." Zukuari scowled._

"_Interesting…" Tukuto cackled. "Well, this'll be a fun party!"_

"_This is getting ridiculous. C'mon, Tukuto!" Zumoto yelled._

_Each Kuchiyose looked at one another, anticipating the battle that was about to be fought._

_Nista sped towards Gamaforsta with bloodlust in his mouth, ready to kill._

_Nista sunk his fangs into the toad, dripping poison into his rival._

_The toad exploded, and Tukuto leaped into the air, amazingly high, and landed on the ground several yards away from Mikuzi._

_Zukuari formed hand signs and leaped down, chakra pouring out from her hands. She was ready to lay down the chakra scalpel on all of Tukuto's limbs, making it impossible for him to move._

_He was able to charge up a Rasengan and slam it onto her chest before she could attack, however. _

_Zukuari was cut short, and sent flying into the forest. She was laying unconscious somewhere, Zumoto couldn't see. _

_Gamaforsta, Mikuzi, and Nista all disappeared, tired of this drama._

_Zumoto leaped down and chased after Tukuto, who was still on his escape._

_Zumoto cursed to himself, if only they had got more help._

_Tukuto looked out of the corner of his eye. Zumoto was gaining on him._

_Within a half hour, another battle would be taken place._

"Tukuto?" Zukuari asked.

"Huh?" Tukuto asked, snapping back to reality.

"What's wrong?" Zukuari asked.

"Nothing." Tukuto said, and left. He went back home, and layed down in his bed to take a nap. A half hour passed, and he was still awake. He couldn't get to sleep at all.

_Zumoto had caught up by now._

"_Tukuto! Come on!" Zumoto pleaded._

"_You're stupid, Zumoto." Tukuto said firmly._

"_Does Konohagakure mean NOTHING to you?!" Zumoto yelled._

"_Zumoto, truth be told, it does. Konoha means a lot." Tukuto said._

"_Then why are you leaving?" Zumoto yelled._

"_Because you know as well as I do what is coming in the future." Tukuto said._

"_Tukuto, I'm going to beat the living crap out of you if you don't come back with me!" Zumoto yelled._

_Tukuto formed a rectangular seal with his hands, and pointed it at Zumoto._

"_SHINTENSHIN NO JUTSU!" he yelled._

_Moments later, Tukuto was controlling Zumoto's body. _

"_Finally, you get to experience the art of the Mind Destruction." Tukuto said through Zumoto's body._

_Zumoto, being controlled by Tukuto, placed his index and middle fingers, on both hands, on both sides of his neck, on each side of the Adam's apple. He pushed in hard. Soon, he passed out, and collapsed on the ground._

_Tukuto, back in his own body, said, "Goodbye…comrade…," departing into the dark forest, leaving The Land of Fire._

_Tukuto was now in the Land of Rice. His teammates had chased him in the direction he wasn't headed. His original itinerary was to head to Iwagakure, and seek hiding there. _

"_Damn it!" Tukuto yelled. "Is there no one I can trust anymore?"_

_He stood there for a while, and then continued walking. "I'll seek training from him." He said to himself._

_He formed a few hand seals, and disappeared. _


	10. Chapter 10: Mission: Restart!

Talking Time

**Talking Time!!**

Hiya! Slavetomyownwill here! My story's on double digits now, I find this to be slightly odd, but at the same time, awesome! Anyways, I just figured I would say thanks for reading my story! If you have any questions/comments/concerns, post them in a review! I have very little reviews right now…one. It was me. Telling everyone to post questions/comments/concerns as a review instead of a message. That's pathetic. REVIEW! Please?

Anyways, thanks again!

**To the Story!!**

Chapter X

Tukuto had left Konoha six months ago. Strangely, though, he returned to the village, knowing what to expect: hostility, poor treatment, and such. He layed in his bed the night of Naruto's funeral, pondering over things. The images of his escape flashed through his mind over and over again. Did he regret leaving? He couldn't tell. He wasn't even sure if he _wanted_ to return at all. He was one of the Densetsu no Sandaime Sannin no Konohagakure, one of the strongest Shinobi of the leaf village. He knew inside that the only way he could repent was by defeating the Neo-Akatsuki. He knew that, but yet…he didn't want to help. He knew what to expect from Zumoto.

His teammate, the snake Sannin, was never a forgiving person. He loved to argue, and would always put forth a lot of effort if it meant being able to feel superior to others. He wasn't a bad person, he just wasn't a nice person, either.

In fact, Zumoto and Tukuto had never really liked each other. For a period of time, they were friends, but that was interrupted when they each became Chuunin. In the Chuunin Exams, Zumoto and Tukuto were put against each other in the third exam, the fighting tournament. Although Tukuto was able to successfully block nearly all of Zumoto's attacks, Tukuto wasn't promoted. Zumoto never let Tukuto live that down. Tukuto was the only one who had to take the exams a third time before he was finally promoted.

Tukuto and Zumoto definitely weren't rivals, they just weren't friends. They never competed against each other, except back when they were put on a team five years ago.

Each of the Sannin graduated from the academy before the age of 11. Zukuari and Tukuto were ten when they graduated from Konoha, and Zumoto was 9 and graduated from Kiri. Zumoto transferred over when each was 11, and they were put together on a ninja cell, Cell number 13.

Tukuto finally fell asleep around 1 a.m.

It was about 6 when someone was pounding on Tukuto's bedroom door.

"Tukuto! Get up!" his mom yelled.

"It's Saturday!" Tukuto groaned at her.

"I don't care, get your but out of bed this instant!" Ino screamed.

Tukuto grumbled, and got up angrily. He walked over to his dresser and pulled open his shirt drawer, and threw about ten out before finally picking one, which was just plain white.

He then threw it onto his bed, and pulled open his pants drawer. He quickly selected a pair of baggy navy pants, and threw them onto the bed, too. He pushed both drawers shut. He then pulled off his shirt and pants, and stood there for a minute. He yawned before walking to his bed and getting dressed.

He combed his mess of hair down before opening his door, walking out, and shutting it. He walked over to the kitchen and sat down at the table, and put his head in his arms.

"Why so early?" he groaned.

"Your dad's leaving on a month long mission in two hours." She said. "And you've got a mission starting this afternoon."

"What?" Tukuto groaned.

Zukuari's morning was quite different. She slept in until at least noon, and when she finally woke up, no one was home. She looked over at the calendar, and saw that she had to leave on the mission today. She took at quick shower, and then got dressed.

Zumoto didn't even sleep the night before. He was too angry at Tukuto to even think of being tired, and besides, he had a mission to prepare for. He had spent his night packing weapons and such. It was about three a.m. when he was ready. Sadly, his mission didn't start until 16.

He went outside of his house and looked around. It was pretty dark. "Think I'll go for a walk." He said to himself, and started walking around. In about a half hour, he was where he wanted to be: the bridge. He stood in the middle of it, leaning on the railing and looking at his moonlit reflection in the water below. He stared at it for a long time, thinking about the type of person he was. He then left and walked around Konoha some more, and at about seven he went back home.

"We're leaving on the mission today." He said to himself. "If Tukuto tries anything funny, I'll snap his neck."

He sat down on his couch. He stared at the blank TV screen. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV, not caring what was on.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya in a month." Shikamaru said to his family, shutting the door behind him.

Tukuto sat at the table, silent.

"Tukuto, what's wrong?" Ino asked her son. "You've been quiet all day."

"Nothing." Tukuto muttered, and went back to his room.

At 16:00, all three Sannin were at Konoha's gates, ready to leave on the mission. They figured they would have the Neo-Akatsuki beat soon enough to be back for the Jounin Selection Exams.

"All righty, then! Let's…" Zukuari said, and raised her fist into the air. "GOOOO!" she yelled.


	11. Chapter 11: The NeoAkatsuki!

Chapter XI

Chapter XI

The three departed Konoha in an instant. Why the ANBU member wasn't helping this time, they were unsure. Was she still mad about earlier?

"Tukuto, do you know who the Neo-Akatsuki are?" Zukuari asked.

"Zukuari! You don't need to ask him! We can find out easily enough." Zumoto scowled.

"You just can't stand the fact that you need help. No, you don't mind help. You just can't stand the fact that you need _my_ help." Tukuto shouted.

"Well, maybe if you weren't so selfish!" Zumoto yelled.

"Will you two just stop?" Zukuari groaned.

"Zukuari, he's always been like this. Anything I'm better at than him, he has to attack." Tukuto said angrily.

Zukuari smacked both in the face.

"Alright! Now, Tukuto, would you just answer?" Zukuari demanded.

"Fine. As you know by now, there's Uchiha Kimika, the daughter of Sasuke and Temari. She left Konoha five years ago, when she was our age. Also, there's a konoichi called Dread, no one knows her real name. She killed Rokudaime. There's her teammate, Jimo, from Kumogakure. He excels when in comes to annoyance. It's one of his battle techniques. There's Mekafu, a blonde Iwagakure with a short fuse. There's her teammate, also from Iwa, Rinkimi, who, like the former member Sasori, excels in puppetry techniques. There's Shifukato, who enjoys mass murder. Then there's Jishikuji. He's from Kusa, the grass village. His gaze can steal chakra from opponents. There's three other members, including the leader, but I've no information on who they are. Anyway, all are deadly opponents. I've battled three, including Kimika. Almost all of the Neo-Akatsuki flee when they get the chance, except Shifukato, who isn't satisfied until his enemy is dead and dismembered or burned. I heard from someone that he once watched with excitement as a herd of wild animals tore one of his victim's corpses apart and devoured it." Tukuto explained, then caught up on breath.

"Jeez!" Zukuari groaned. "We have to kill them?"

"Yup. All of them." Tukuto said. "But the thing is, if we kill one, there's a chance that someone new will join, and replace them."

Zumoto remained calm on the surface, but on the inside he was shaking with fear. A few of them sounded even stronger than Rokudaime, who was the strongest of all Hokage.

"Tell us all the villages again." He said.

Tukuto didn't even smirk that Zumoto needed help remembering all that. "Dread is from waterfall. Jimo is from cloud. Kimika's a leaf. Mekafu and Rinkimi are both from rock. Jishikuji is from grass, and Shifukato is from mist, like you." Tukuto explained.

"Hey! Let's go to Tanzaku City!" Zukuari exclaimed. "I'm ready to get this mission over with!"

"What makes you think they'll be in Tanzaku?" Zumoto asked.

"Because we can cause a commotion and lure them in. And Tanzaku is close enough to Konoha that we'll be able to get the ANBU in to help us before it's over!" Zukuari explained her amazing plan.

"Remember how I explained how hard it will be to get to Rokudaime, but a member did?" Tukuto asked.

"_That couldn't possibly be." The male advisor said. "And besides, if someone was trying to assassinate the Hokage, he or she wouldn't be able to. Our military force is very powerful, and besides, even if they could overtake our military, we have the ANBU. And if the ANBU were defeated, which isn't likely, the Hokage is a very powerful man. He would be able to stop whatever is coming."_

The memory played in each of their minds.

"One of the Neo-Akatsuki, Dread, singlehandedly defeated Rokudaime. Which means she had to have defeated the Konoha Military Force, the ANBU, and the Rokudaime himself." Tukuto said. "She's too powerful to be able to underestimated. And we don't even know which member will come, if one even does."

"And how do you propose we attract them?" Zumoto asked.

"_Most of them were resealed into new people. Right now, the Neo-Akatsuki should be seeking out the Sanbi." X397 said._

"We bring the Sanbi." Zukuari proudly said.

"The Sanbi is in Konoha." Tukuto said.

"Yeah!" Zukuari said.

"Konoha's an hour or two away by now." Zumoto said, killing Zukuari's pride.

"Damn it." Zukuari said. "I'm out of ideas."

"I can't think of anything either." Zumoto said.

"I can. Shifukato sure hates anyone who opposes him." Tukuto said.

"I see where you're going with this: so we set out information all over that we plan on killing him, and then he comes after us, and BANG! We kill him!" Zukuari excitedly guessed.

"Yup. We're going to kill Shifukato." Tukuto smiled.


	12. Chapter 12: The Team is Split!

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"We're going to kill a member of the Neo-Akatsuki." Tukuto said.

"You sure? I don't think we can—" Zumoto started.

"Of course we can. I've battle him before by myself. It wasn't easy, but with three of us, we can overtake him." Tukuto said.

"And besides, with my Byakugan, Tukuto's Shintenshin, and your powers, we can easily beat him! Not to mention we have the Chakra Scalpel, Rasengan, and Chidori!" Zukuari exclaimed.

"Count me out, I don't think we're ready." Zumoto said.

"Then you go back to Konoha while _we_ do the mission." Tukuto said.

"Fine. I'm out." Zumoto said, walking in the opposite direction.

"Zumoto…" Zukuari said quietly. "Don't!"

"Too bad. I'm not staying." Zumoto said.

Tukuto grabbed Zukuari by the wrist and dragged her away. "C'mon, we're gonna get that guy."

They were now too far apart from each other to be able to see, hear, or whatever.

Tukuto let go of Zukuari. She stood looking at him for a moment. "We're close to Tanzaku."

"Yeah, what's up?" Tukuto asked.

"Now that we're getting close to battle time, I'm getting a little nervous." Zukuari said.

"Why?" Tukuto asked.

She explained the matter to him. "We don't have Zumoto, and that means no Chidori or other dark Jutsu he knows. And it's two on one instead of three on one."

"Zukuari." Tukuto said. "It can still be three on one."

"How so?"

"A friend of mine can help us."

"Who?"

"Uchiha Chirimoto." Tukuto said.

"Huh?" Zukuari asked.

"A rogue ninja from Sunagakure." Tukuto said.

"If he's an Uchiha, how's he from Suna?" Zukuari asked.

"He was sent over to Suna when he was born. He's been trained by one of the most elite." Tukuto explained.

"He left the village, too, huh?" Zukuari guessed. "Did he?"

"Yeah. He left the village two years ago. He and I met a few days after I left Konoha." Tukuto said. "He's also a Jin Chuuriki."

"A Jin Chuuriki? Which one?" Zukuari asked with amazement.

Tukuto then said, "The Gobi. It has the powers of earth, water, wind, lightning, and fire."

"And you two are friends?" Zukuari asked.

"Yeah, actually. Hard to believe?" Tukuto replied, snickering.

"Does he have Mangekyou Sharingan?" Zukuari asked.

"No. Not that I know of." Tukuto said.

_Tukuto walked into the abandoned warehouse._

"_I know you're in here!" Tukuto yelled._

_Chirimoto stayed hidden in the shadows. He didn't want to have to fight right now._

_Tukuto, in the blink of an eye, threw a kunai into the shadowy corner without seeming to move a muscle. _

_It missed Chirimoto by an inch. Chirimoto jumped out of the corner and leaped at Tukuto, who ducked avoiding contact. _

_Chirimoto sped around Tukuto, escaping through the doorway into the sunlit desert. _

_Tukuto quickly followed, trying to catch up._

"_I'm going to destroy you!" Tukuto yelled. He made a few hand signs: Snake, Dragon, Rabbit, Tiger. "Katon! Fire Dragon Technique!" _

_He blew slightly, and his breath transformed into a dragon made from fire, speeding after Chirimoto. _


	13. Chapter 13: Tanzaku Castle's Basement

Chapter XIII

Chapter XIII

**Talking time!!**

I wrote Chapter XIII first this time, remember last time the story started with Talking Time instead of Chapter X and stuff? Yeah, I think you get the picture. Anyway, I'm looking on MySpace for someone to be my editor for this story. I'm planning on doing a time skip anytime between the end of this chapter and the end of chapter 15. Don't worry, I'll give a fair warning, first. Depending on how the end of this chapter turns out depends on whether or not I'll fast forward. Oh yeah, speaking of the fast forward, it won't be like in Naruto. It will probably be ten-fifteen years. Why so big? Well, you'll have to read on to find out. I'm guessing you're wanting to read the story now, so I'll stop rambling.

**Story time!!**

"_Chirimoto, I know you're the five tailed wolf!" Tukuto yelled. "Fight back, come on!"_

_Chirimoto halted to a stop, and had to duck to avoid the dragon._

_Tukuto ran up to him. "Why aren't you fighting back?"_

"_It's not that I won't." Chirimoto said. "I can't."_

"_Why not?" Tukuto asked, holding a kunai at his side, prepared for an oncoming attack. He thought Chirimoto was bluffing._

"_Every time I try to use my Chakra, the power of the Gobi leaks out. If I were to be in a battle for even five minutes, the seal would break." Chirimoto explained. "I don't want mass destruction."_

"_Taijutsu." Tukuto instructed. "Use it."_

"_Why do you want to fight me so much?" Chirimoto demanded._

"_I'm one of the Densetsu no Sannin. If I can't take on a Jin Chuuriki, I'm a pathetic excuse for a ninja. I have to know where I stand in terms of strength." Tukuto explained._

_Chirimoto gave Tukuto a friendly punch on the shoulder. "I like you, kid." _

"_We're the same age. Quit calling me kid!" Tukuto scowled, which made Chirimoto laugh._

"_Look, I'm staying in Tanzaku most of the time. If you ever need me, I'll probably be there. I've been living in the furthermost room in the basement of Tanzaku castle. Only the underground story wasn't destroyed when Orochimaru attacked about forty years ago." Chirimoto said. _

"_Yeah. I've been there. Several times actually. I think once I've been in 'your room.' You don't have much stuff, you know." Tukuto said._

"_Yeah? What about it?" Chirimoto asked, thinking he was being mocked._

"_Nothing. Just sayin', you know?" Tukuto shrugged. _

Zukuari and Tukuto had been walking while Tukuto went through his memories of meeting his friend.

They were in Tanzaku city by now.

"Are we going to start spreading the word, or are we first going to go meet your friend?" Zukuari asked.

"We'll go find him first. After all, he's sort of famous-er, infamous. I'm sure if _he_ would voice it out, it'd go a lot faster." Tukuto said.

"Aight! Let's go get 'im!" Zukuari exclaimed, ready to meet a new friend.

The two proceeded their way up to Tanzaku castle. On their way, they were yelling and shouting about how exciting it will be to kill Shifukato of the Neo-Akatsuki. Many people gave them uneasy looks, most thinking, _damn, that guy's gonna kill those two,_ while a few of them thought, _why are these people yelling? They look like morons!_ All of the wreckage was cleared. There was a small hump of ground in the center. Looking at it, one could tell that it's hollow, can easily be moved and put back in place, and it probably contained a chamber underneath.

Tukuto and Zukuari moved it, and hopped inside. Tukuto raised Zukuari on his shoulders and she grabbed the mound, and pulled it back over the hole. It was now pitch black. Zukuari carefully hopped down. They couldn't see at all.

"Byakugan!" Zukuari yelled. She scanned the area, and quickly found a mass of Chakra. "It's a huge amount. Is that him?" she asked.

"Probably." He said to her, then shouted. "Chirimoto! It's me, Tukuto! We're going to kill Shifukato, and we need your help!"

The mass of Chakra stood up. It was in fact, a human. It began to walk over to Zukuari and Tukuto. Once it was almost right in front of them – although it was too dark to be able to see – Zukuari released the Byakugan.

"Chirimoto, will you help us?" Tukuto asked.

"I'm not Chirimoto." The voice said. It sounded rough and scratchy, completely unlike Chirimoto's voice.

"Who are you?" Zukuari asked.

"Me? I think I've met one of you before, and I don't like you at all." He said.

"That doesn't answer the question." Zukuari said.

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME!" he shouted. Zukuari leaped up into the air, slamming her fist into the mound, crushing it. It was still too dark to see who he was. The two Sannin jumped out of the basement.

They stepped back a few steps, and each pulled out a few kunai.

The cloaked figure jumped out as well. His long black cloak, with a red cloud pattern was unzipped down to the waist. He was wearing a metal armor chest plate underneath. His scratched out Kirigakure headband was around his neck.

"Shifukato!" Tukuto gasped.

"Yup. Ready to die, brats?" Shifukato asked.

**Talking Time!!**

Okay, I wasn't expecting it to go in this direction, it sort of just came to me. I guess you can tell by now that the time skip won't be for a couple chapters. I seriously doubt that it will be after the next chapter. It's likely, though, that I'll skip the years ahead after chapter 15 or 17. If it's not fifteen, I honestly doubt it will be sixteen. Well, thanks for reading this far!

-slavetomyownwill


	14. Chapter 14: Shifukato of NeoAkatsuki

Chapter XIV

Chapter XIV

Tukuto and Zukuari immediately began fighting.

Tukuto created twelve shadow doppelgangers, and Zukuari leaped into the air.

While in midair, Zukuari slid open a scroll and slid blood across it. She slapped it, and it transformed into a scythe the same size as she. She began coming back down, slicing the scythe right through Shifukato. The Neo-Akatsuki was cut into two pieces, and the two perfectly cut halves fell to the ground.

Right before they turned into a puddle of water, that is.

Tukuto wasn't surprised. Shifukato was able to perform many Jutsus without the use of hand signs.

Tukuto was suddenly trapped in a block of ice. Shifukato was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, all of the clones became a cloud of smoke and disappeared. Zukuari gasped as her staff suddenly melted into a puddle of water as well. Shifukato was able to control the battle from wherever the heck he was.

Zukuari felt multiple sets of arms holding her down, keeping her from fighting, but as she struggled to twist her head and look around, she saw absolutely no one. Suddenly, twelve of him appeared. Three of them were on their knees, pushing down Zukuari's legs. Another two were holding her arms behind her back.

Another was holding her head, which explained how hard it was to look around.

Zukuari screamed, she wasn't expecting them to show up so suddenly.

Nor was she expecting a blonde boy about her age to suddenly appear, holding a huge axe. His sand headband was slashed out, he was a missing-nin. He had jet black eyes, and looked at Zukuari for a minute.

_He's kind of cute…wait, no, focus!_ She thought.

He used his axe and spun around in three circles. The axe turned iridescent, and grew much larger as he spun. He faced the real Shifukato, who was standing behind all the other clones, and swung the axe in the air. The real Shifukato leaped out of the way before the spirit axe got him. However, the ninja was able to get the clones with the axe, sealing their spirits away.

Now that Zukuari was free, she stabbed herself in the finger, and spread it across her arm. Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Sheep! "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" she yelled, and slapped the ground.

Her giant slug, Mikuzi, appeared, and Zukuari and the blonde boy were standing on top of it.

"Hi, I'm Zukuari." She said to him.

"The name's Chirimoto." He said back to her. His spirit axe disappeared by now, it can only last for a few minutes at a time.

"Hey! We wanted you to help, anyway!" Zukuari exclaimed.

"I know." Chirimoto said. "I hear things."

Shifukato was suddenly on top of a large turtle.

"How are you able to do ninjutsu without hand signs?" Zukuari asked.

"Nearly all of us can." He said. He then pulled out a large butcher knife.

"Time to have some fun." He said, smiling wickedly.


	15. Chapter 15: Three on One!

Chapter XV

Chapter XV

"You could learn a few things about _battles_." Shifukato said, and hurled the butcher's weapon towards the two. Chirimoto ducked, and Zukuari made the sign of the ox, and leaped into the air. The weapon missed both of them. As they looked back at Shifukato, he had another. Where did this come from?

"I'll get Tukuto." Chirimoto said, and leaped off of the slug. He soared down pretty fast, and sprinted over to the ice block. He used a rapid succession of punches, and soon the bock of ice shattered. Tukuto was shivering from the cold. Tukuto slit his thumb with a kunai, and summoned Gamaforsta, his giant toad.

"This battle's just getting started!" he yelled. He and Chirimoto were atop the toad, staring at the Neo-Akatsuki.

"Tukuto, you've been dying to see this, I know." Chirimoto said, and made a few hand signs: ox, rabbit, tiger, sheep, monkey, snake, dragon. He then grew a five tails, each made of an element: fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water.

He leaped off of the toad and onto the giant turtle. He roared at Shifukato. He then made another set of hand signs: sheep, horse, dragon. "Earth Dragon Missile!" he yelled, and a huge earthlike dragon formed from his fingers, and it bit Shifukato on the arm, and then disappeared. "That's not all!" He made the dragon sign. "Tarenken! Multiple fists barrage! He then used a sonic fast succession of punches on Shifukato's face. The Neo-Akatsuki member was pushed back by the massive force of strength. "Take that, fishy!"

Zukuari then leaped across the gap from slug to turtle. She jumped off the turtle's head, onto the shell, where Shifukato was blown to. Tiger, Snake, Rat, Tiger. Chakra surrounded her palms, and she slammed her fist into Shifukato's lungs. "The Chakra Scalpel destroys the internal organs where contact is made without doing any external damage. Pretty soon, you're going to be dead. Both of your lungs are completely ruptured. See you later. Oh wait, I won't. You're dying." She said.

Tukuto just stood on top of Gamaforsta. "Oil!" he yelled. "Chirimoto! Zukuari! Get the hell off of that thing!" Snake, Tiger, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. "Toad Oil Fire Bullet!"

Zukuari and Chirimoto leaped off of the turtle as the toad spit oil, which soon became a huge burning flame. It took the turtle completely. When the fire died, down, all three ninja saw that the turtle was dead. Shifukato, however, was still alive, standing on top of the scorched shell, gasping for breath.

"You…" he wheezed. "You got guts, kid. I'll give you that. But you're about to die!" he coughed.

The five tails disappeared. "What was that about?" Zukuari asked.

"I can't use any Chakra, or else the Gobi's chakra is released. If I exert Chakra for too long, the seal will break, and he'll be freed." Chirimoto explained.

Tukuto, Chirimoto, and Zukuari all at once leaped toward the shell, landing in a triangle around the Neo-Akatsuki member. They each formed a hand sign. Tukuto made sheep, Zukuari made ox, and Chirimoto used bird. They each were bluffing. The hand sign meant absolutely nothing, but they each together jumped up and kicked the dying enemy in the head, crushing his skull.

The dead Neo-Akatsuki member was crumpled up on the dome of the shell. Tukuto, Zukuari, and Chirimoto each gave it a long stare. The turtle shell finally disappeared with the corpse of the turtle, and the three dropped to the ground. The dead body, however, did not. It hovered in the air for a moment, before another member of the Neo-Akatsuki appeared next to it, in midair. She grabbed the corpse, and stared at them.

"You must be Shifukato's killers. May your lives be tortured in the pits of the underworld." She said.

"Who's that?" Zukuari asked Tukuto.

"I'm not sure!" Tukuto said. "I've never seen her before!"

The lady, along with the body, disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.

"We better find Zumoto." Zukuari said. The three left the scene, ready to reunite with their old teammate.

It was three days later that they found him. They had returned to Konoha at midnight after killing Shifukato. However, it took a while to find Zumoto, since he wasn't at home the entire time. He had been staying with one of his friends. Why, they didn't know.

However, they had all been shocked to find out some big news. The Jounin Selection Exams started the very next day. Also, Sarutobi Konohamaru was the Shichidaime Hokage.

**Talking Time!!**

Well, this looks like a good place to skip. Starting in Chapter XVI, all of the Sannin will be 35. The timeskip is twenty years long. Look forward to it!

-slavetomyownwill


	16. Chapter 16: Graduation Exams

Chapter XVI

Chapter XVI

**Talking Time!!**

Hey there! This is slavetomyownwill giving a shout-out to all of my homies! Well, I don't really feel like names, but you know who you are! Anyway, I'd like to thank you for reading this far! Don't forget, there was a timeskip in between the most previous chapter and this one. Now, the Sandaime Sannin are all 35, so twenty years have passed. In this chapter, I'll be introducing a new group of characters.

**Onward! The story awaits!!**

The sun was shining high over Konoha at noon Monday. A few clouds rolled through the sky quickly. The inscriptions on the mountain wall in the village were the faces of all seven Hokage, the protectors of Konohagakure.

Sarutobi Konohamaru, the sixty-year old Hokage—although he was so fit he looked thirty—sat at his office desk looking over a few papers. The Konoha Ninja Academy's graduation exams were today.

The Academy's teacher, Karasa, sat at the desk with a stack of papers, one for each student in the academy. The first student to enter the room, Mitarashi Katofu, stood nervously in the center of the room.

"Alright. I want three doppelgangers." Karasa said expectantly.

Katofu made the signs: tiger, boar, ox, dog, and three illusionary versions of Katofu stood behind him.

Karasa wrote down a few notes on the sheet with Katofu's name on it. "Next, I want you to transform into the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama."

Katofu then formed the signs: dog, boar, tiger, and then he, in a cloud of smoke, became the First Hokage. He was a little bit off, the armor was blue instead of red, but Karasa was pretty lenient. "Alright." She said, marking something down. "Here. You'll need to take this to the Hokage's office on your own time. Dismissed."

With that, Katofu left the room, and soon after, the next student came in.

Uchiha Shiki, granddaughter of Sasuke and Temari, entered the room. Her parents were Sasuke and Temari's other child, and a female from the Land of Waves. She looked at Karasa, waiting to get the exam over with. Shiki could tell she would pass with flying colors. Karasa told her to create three doppelgangers, and Shiki had it completed before Karasa finished the sentence.

"Alright. I want a transformation. I want you to become the Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade." Karasa said.

Shiki—fast as lightning—formed the hand signs required, and was then the fifth Hokage. Nothing was incorrect, she was perfect. She then turned back to normal.

Karasa wrote down what needed written and handed her the paper.

Shiki left.

Kiba's grandson, Inuzuka Chifuta, was next. He looked at the teacher, shaking. He was absolutely horrified. He wanted to become a ninja, he just lacked skill. However, he was able to create his three doppelgangers. When it came to transforming into Yondaime, he wasn't very good. He was too short, the coat was the wrong color, and the hair was black instead of blonde.

"Don't you know what you're doing?" Karasa asked.

Chifuta then retried the transformation, and got it right. He got his paper, and hurried out. He then sighed a huge sigh of relief.

In the Hokage's office, three young students entered his office. Shiki, Chifuta, and Katofu walked in, not knowing what will happen. Konohamaru had them each sign their paper and turn it in to him, and he gave each of them a Konoha hitae-ate. Shiki took one with a black material, Chifuta's was red, and Katofu took the standard blue.

"You three," Konohamaru said, "will be Cell Tufushimoto."

They all shuddered at the thought. They had heard stories. Tufushimoto was one of the most powerful and strict Shinobi of all the five great nations. Some stories told that he has more power than the Shodai Hokage himself, the builder of Konoha.

"What?" Konohamaru asked.

"Can we have someone else?" Chifuta asked nervously.

"Nope. You're getting him." Shichidaime replied with a stern look.


	17. Chapter 17: Dread of NeoAkatsuki

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Tufushimoto. A powerful Konoha ninja, one of the strongest. He was formerly of Waterfall, but was kidnapped by one of the Neo-Akatsuki, although he isn't a Jin Chuuriki. After he was freed, he stayed in Konoha to remain friends with his rescuers, Momochi Zumoto and Nara Tukuto, who had finally become friends.

Shiki, Chifuta, and Katofu were all horribly afraid of him, and on all seven missions they had been on, they shuddered in fear every time he turned around to talk to them. Yet during the three months that they had been together on a team, they became no closer. Shiki still tried to avoid Katofu and Chifuta like they were the plague, and Chifuta still needed help with Jutsu training but was afraid to ask for it. In Katofu's case, he was completely the same. Tufushimoto wasn't nearly as bad as they thought he would be, though. They expected an incredibly strict teacher with unreasonable punishments and terribly long lectures, but instead, he was pretty lenient and caring towards them.

The Chuunin Exams were coming up in a week, and Konohamaru had accepted the admittance from the numerous Genin teams. Cell Tufushimoto was going to compete.

The Chuunin Exams, considering the proctors were the Densetsu no Sannin, were going to be incredibly different this year.

Stage one, which will be overseen by Aburame Zukuari, will no longer be a written test. Instead, she's planning something never done before.

Stage two, which will be overseen by Nara Tukuto, will still be a survival contest, but also will be redone, with new rules and goals.

Stage three, which will be overseen by Momochi Zumoto, won't be a tournament. He wants to do something similar, but different.

Shiki was looking forward to the Exams. She knew in the bottom of her heart that Chifuta and Katofu didn't stand a chance and she would, so she couldn't wait for the bragging rights.

Chifuta was incredibly afraid. He had heard that there was going to be a survival contest. Almost every night he would lay in bed, thinking, _am I going to die_?

Katofu didn't care. He wanted to do the exams for the experience, but he didn't care about rank. He saw everyone as equals; in his standards, he and Lord Hokage are the same.

All three of the Sannin are going to have to come a long way for the exams, as none of them live in Konoha anymore. Several ninja from the Land of Wind, including Rinkashi, plan on attending, mainly for the third stage.

Black mist suddenly surrounded the three Genin as they were thinking about what would happen in the exams. Tufushimoto was suddenly grabbed and trapped in a black energy sphere, which would constantly drain his energy.

The three ninja were deathly afraid. An S-Rank Criminal stood before them, wearing one of the Akatsuki cloaks. "Hello. My name is unknown to many faces in this world. You can call me Dread." She said politely, and she opened her eyes. They had a hypnotic pattern to them.

Katofu, who knew all about kekkai genkai and various examples, was quite aware of what might happen. "Everyone close your eyes! She'll kidnap you!" he yelled. He knew the mighty strength of the Rinnegan.

Aburame Zukuari was on the same road, a few miles away. She was headed towards the scene on her way to Konoha, completely unaware of the battle that was about to take place.

She had changed completely. She stood much taller, and her long black hair had grown even longer, and she now kept it in a long ponytail. Her Byakugan eyes seemed much stronger, and her arms and legs were more muscular. She now wore a fancy red tunic and black Capri pants. She had armor plates on her lower arms. Her appearance was much more striking, in beauty and in strength. Her Chakra control had grown to a much stronger finesse, as had her Jutsu. She could easily take down any opponent.


	18. Chapter 18: The Thirteen Roads of Dread

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The three Genin stood frozen in fear, with their eyes locked shut. However, because of this, they were unaware as to what was happening around them.

There were three more people accompanied by Dread, each with the hypnotic eyes, however, Dread was the only one with pupils.

One of the bodies, a brown haired woman named Rinkimi, also wore an Akatsuki cloak. Two others were in ANBU uniforms, but without masks. In fact, these were the same ANBU from Amegakure when the Sannin were with Rinkuji.

"My name is Dread." The original said.

"Likewise, I am Dread." Rinkimi stated.

"Pleased to meet you. Call me Dread." Katotoka, the female ANBU, said.

"My greeting is the same as the others, for my name is Dread." The male ANBU, Tushiki, said.

"How do they all have the same name?" Shiki asked.

"That's the power of her kekkai genkai! She can take over other bodies and they fall under her control." Katofu explained. "Just **don't **let her get her hand on your heart. That's the start of her technique.

"Such knowledge for a mere Genin." All four said in unison. "We shall wipe that knowledge off of you."

With that, several more arrived.

Ari, a hypocritical warrior from Oto, was first to show up with the second group. Following her was a clone of Inuzuka Rinkuji. Chitashi was the next one, a very muscular woman who loved to fight with brute force and fatal blows. Following her were five others. There was a total of twelve. Thirteen "Roads", as they are called, would be fighting the Genin team, but Tufushimoto escaped the Rinnegan after five years being Dread.

Shiki could feel a sudden change inside her. The fear had stirred something, and as someone poked her shoulder, her eyes shot open, revealing the blood red iris and the two tomoe. Her Sharingan had awakened. She quickly shut her eyes again, but could still see the flow of everyone's Chakra. She could tell that Ari was about to use an attack.

"Everyone get out of the way!" Shiki yelled, so all three Genin successfully dodged the spark of black lightning.

Chifuta felt left out. Shiki was somehow able to predict attacks, and Katofu was intelligent enough to know the inner workings of someone he just met.

"I am Dread." All twelve bodies said together. "I shall obliterate you." The Genin could move no farther. They were backed into a cliff wall. No way out.

"Unless." They said. "Speak to me. Tell me where the Jin Chuuriki is. We seek the Sanbi, he who is known as Zikamime."

"Zikamime!" Chifuta gasped. All twelve bodies focused on him. Zikamime was one of Chifuta's best friends. They could sense that Chifuta was weak, and would hand out information if threatened.

All the bodies formed one of the hand signs, so that each of them was made. They then clapped their hands in unison. The dark energy field was gone. Tufushimoto, with hypnotic eyes, joined the group.

The Thirteen Roads of Dread were going to kill that boy if necessary.

Behind the group of Dread stood a black haired konoichi. By looking at her, the Genin, whose eyes were now opened, could tell she was an ally.

The woman, who was approximately thirty-five years old, formed a few hand signs: Tiger, Snake, Rat, Tiger. She smiled as her Chakra surfaced around her palms. She then jumped in front of the group, and punched in the heart, all the bodies except Tufushimoto, whom she had no intention to kill. The others, however, were dead meat.

"You'll have to get through me to get that boy!" she yelled.

"Who the hell are you?" the original Dread demanded.

"Someone should pay attention in class. I'm one of the Densetsu no Sannin. The name's Aburame Zukuari, you wanna get creamed?"


	19. Chapter 19: Aburame Zukuari

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Zukuari stood in front of all the gasping bodies. She couldn't help but smile a little. She then used the scalpel on eleven of the twelve, smashing her fist into their skull, destroying their central nervous system, ultimately killing them. The original, however was able to dodge. Tufushimoto charged at her, with the intent to kill. The original stood back to recover her breath. Zukuari released the jutsu, and made the sign of the tiger. She then grabbed Tufushimoto by the shoulders and yelled, "Chakra Absorption Technique!"

The three Genin had summoned enough courage to get up and charge at the original body. She jumped up, and suddenly had five senbon in each hand. "Watch this. It's how I killed Rokudaime."

The statement froze Zukuari, and caused her to accidently stop the Jutsu. Dread threw the senbon at all three. She jumped up onto the cave wall and leaped off, throwing more senbon. This process kept repeating, but the three Genin weren't fast enough to evade the attacks. Zukuari was also getting attacked by Tufushimoto and was unable to help.

Soon, Shiki was covered in senbon acupuncture needles. Chifuta and Katofu gasped, and were once again frozen in fear. _The_ Uchiha Shiki, prodigy among the Konoha village, dead. How could this have happened?

Dread continued her attack, pulling out a katana and leaping at Shiki, ready to dismember the helpless girl. Chifuta, out of a sudden act of bravery, leaped in the way and was sliced across the back and then slashed across the front, having his lungs cut up. He fell next to Shiki, crumpled and helpless. Dread eyed Katofu with the excitement of destroying an entire team. The fear she sensed gave her a rush. She pulled out a huge war axe. Her endless supply of weapons was coming from thin air. Zukuari then remembered that all of the Neo-Akatsuki can do Jutsu, including summoning techniques, without the use of hand signs.

She swung the axe, ready to chop the boy in half, from center of skull to waist. The axe came down on him.

Dread gasped. The boy was holding the axe up with only his left hand. The axe tip was right next to his forehead. A little more force from Dread, and she could easily overtake him.

_His Chakra…it's immense!_ She sensed. _Could he be a Jin Chuuriki as well?_

Zukuari looked at Katofu. His determination was fierce. He was risking his life to save his friends. _He's an excellent Shinobi,_ she decided in her thoughts. Her eyes then moved to Shiki and Chifuta. They were both dead, or at least in a near-death state. She gasped when she saw all the needles in Shiki. She couldn't stand the sight of so much pain and suffering. _I've got to kill her. Dread will die for doing this to the poor girl._

Zukuari kicked Tufushimoto back, and made a few hand signs: Ox, Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Sheep, Snake, Pig, Sheep, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Ox, Horse, Sheep, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Rat, Boar, Monkey, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Sheep, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Rabbit, Boar, Dragon, Ox, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Rat, Boar, Bird. "Water Dragon Jutsu!" she screamed, and the small pond in the nearby forest was drained of water. A huge dragon, formed from the water, was in front of Zukuari, speeding at Dread. It bit the Neo-Akatsuki in the heart and ripped it out. Zukuari then made the sign of the tiger, and yelled, "Kai!" the dragon disappeared, and the pond was refilled with water.

Tufushimoto was freed with his master's death. "Thank you!" he shouted with joy.

Zukuari "gave him the hand" and rushed over to the fallen Genin. She'd have to do one at a time. She started with Chifuta, since his lungs were slashed. She grabbed his shirt and ripped it off to make things easier. She made the hand signs: Tiger, Horse, Rabbit, Dog. The green Chakra formed around her index and middle finger as she lightly brushed it across the top of his chest. She reapplied three times, and in time, his lungs and flesh had been restored. She flipped him over, and did the same to his back. Chifuta was saved.

However, Shiki would be much harder. She would need a lot of time to safely remove all the senbon, and time was something she didn't have. Shiki was doomed to death. Zukuari, however, refused to go down without a fight. She pulled about half of the senbon out, and blood oozed out of Shiki's body. Her clothes were permanently stained with her blood. Zukuari did not stop, however. She continued to remove the needles as safely as possible, and in about ten minutes, all of the needles were gone. She then used one of the senbon to slice a chunk of Shiki's hair out. Zukuari then made the sign of the tiger and clapped. "Heal Living Regeneration Technique!" she shouted. She kept her hands pressed firmly together, and green Chakra radiated from Zukuari everywhere. The Chakra floated over to Shiki, and filled up each hole that the needles made. Shiki was soon raised into the air by the Chakra. Zukuari was now a sweaty mess. This Jutsu requires a lot of energy. Usually, it's done in teams, so each person can take a break, but Zukuari is the only medical ninja around. After fourty-five minutes of healing, all of Shiki's injuries were gone. Both Genin were saved.

Zukuari released the Jutsu, and collapsed. She was short on Chakra.

Tufushimoto, Shiki, Chifuta, and Katofu would have to work together to carry the unconscious Sannin back to Konoha, which was a few miles away.

"Master, can't you summon something to carry her?" Shiki asked.

"I never learned the Kuchiyose no Jutsu…" Tufushimoto grunted. All four were tired. They made it half-way, but were unable to proceed any farther.

However, there was someone waiting for them.

Inuzuka Rinkuji stood halfway there, and took Zukuari into her arms. "I'll see you in Konoha." She said, and leaped into the air. Dashing through the trees, leaping over lakes, and soaring through the skies by Chakra powered jumps only, Rinkuji safely brought the konoichi to Konoha. She immediately brought her to the Konoha Hospital, where she was brought into a room for rest.

"She'll be fine." Uzumaki Sakura, the wife of the late Rokudaime, assured. "All she needs to do is rest and get her Chakra levels back up, and then she'll be alright. But the stain of blood is strong on her, what happened?"

"From what I understand, she was in a fight with the warrior Dread of Neo-Akatsuki. She took down twelve S-Rank ninja and expended all the rest of her Chakra healing two Genin." Rinkuji explained. She only knew this because Tufushimoto had explained it to her while Zukuari was first getting into the stretcher.

"Oh…she might need to rest all the next two weeks until the Chuunin Exams. From what Shichidaime-sama said, she's the proctor of the first exam." Sakura said.

Rinkuji nodded. She had already heard about the three proctors this year.

…...

The two weeks past fairly quickly. There were multiple crowds in Konoha. The first group to arrive was the crowd from Sunagakure, where multiple well-dressed servants carried Lord Kazekage on a large chair. Following the servants and Gaara were several Shinobi, including Rinkashi.

Behind the Suna group came ninja from the Land of Thunder, where servants carried the Raikage, leader of the Kumogakure, the cloud village. Behind that ninja group came Otogakure's nasty crowd. They all looked pretty menacing.

Following them were several everyday people from all over the world, who came primarily to watch the third exam. After that were the other Shinobi villages, who arrived late: Amegakure, Kusagakure, Iwagakure, and the village of the Waterfall.

Sarutobi Konohamaru, the Shichidaime Hokage, sat at a long table in a banquet room with the rest of the Shinobi lords. All the other tables were occupied by the competitors of the Chuunin Exams. The three proctors sat at a table by themselves at a different table, discussing the three exams.

Each revealed what they were doing and how it would be done.

"Damn. Seems like this is going to be one tough year for these kids." Zumoto said.


	20. Chapter 20: The First Exam: Ninjutsu?

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Lord Hokage rose to a standing position. "Welcome, everyone. You have all come, near and far, for the same purpose." He said. "The Chuunin Exams!"

Aburame Zukuari rose as well, which brought all the Genin attention to her. "Hello! My name's Aburame Zukuari, and I'll be your first proctor!" she exclaimed. "This way we go!" She then walked over to one of the many doors in the room, and kicked it open. She led all 200 applicants down the corridor, and then finally opened another door. This room seemed like a large classroom: there were rows of desks, and in the front was another desk.

Each desk had a small stack of about ten papers on it. As the applicants browsed through, they saw that each one had information regarding how to do various ninjutsu. Many of them were confused, but a few caught on, including Shiki.

"Everyone take a seat." Zukuari said. "Alright. I'm explaining this once, and only once. You are to browse over these papers for the next three hours. When that time comes, I take your papers, and you have the rest of the time to practice the moves. Then, groups of twenty will enter this room with me, and I'll command which moves to do, and choose out of the groups who fails and who passes. This test is to point out which of you are better at grasping new concepts, a quality necessary for any higher-level Ninja." She then sat down. "Begin!"

Shiki picked up the first page on the stack. She read over it, seeing it taught the Water Dragon Bullet. She was disappointed. She wanted to learn the dragon move that Zukuari had used to take down Dread. However, she had the information, locations on where to focus Chakra, and the hand signs memorized within a half hour. She looked at the clock. She had two and a half hours to memorize nine Jutsus, which wouldn't be easy, considering how hard the Water Dragon Bullet was to memorize.

Chifuta had memorized the Water Dragon Bullet quickly; he could easily memorize how to do moves, it was the doing of the moves that he was bad at.

Katofu took a bit longer than Shiki. He spent about forty minutes on it, and felt he had an awesome hold on it.

The next move on the list was Earth Landslide. Focusing Chakra through the feet, with the sign of the tiger, one can stomp, and easily make a landslide to knock the enemies away. All three members of the team had a good hold on that, it seemed pretty easy. However, it was the next move that they would have trouble with: The Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Art of Summoning.

Shiki, Katofu, and Chifuta all three shuddered when they saw their papers. Chifuta and Katofu tried to memorize it, but Shiki put it down for later.

The time passed slowly, but, it passed.

The first twenty, which included Chifuta, and several ninja from across the land, went into the room.

"Water Dragon Bullet." Zukuari said, bored. Most of the ninja got it, which surprisingly included Chifuta, but seven or so failed. With that, Zukuari pulled ten out. Chifuta had passed!

The next twenty, which included Shiki, entered, and heard Zukuari command the Rogue Nature technique. Shiki was able to do it, and Zukuari gave her a confused look. However, five others also completed it successfully. Three of them, including Shiki, passed.

The third twenty, which did not have Katofu in it, had to complete the Earth Landslide, which, as easy as it seemed, was quite difficult. One person passed.

The fourth set and the fifth set also passed. Ten people moved on.

The sixth set of twenty, which Katofu was finally in, had to complete a move called the Death God Summon. "Miss!" Katofu shouted. "We can't! That move sacrifices the user's life!" Everyone in the room turned at him, amazed. The paper on that move said nothing about death. Zukuari smiled, and then commanded the Fire Dragon jutsu, which Katofu ultimately failed at doing. Zukuari selected the fourteen who passed, which Katofu was in. He stayed behind after everyone else and asked Zukuari why he passed when he failed.

"Because you're the only one who was hesitant about doing a move, because you knew what the end result would be. Knowing extensive things about the moves you must do is an important skill." She said. She then waved him out of the room.

The next four groups passed by quickly. Zukuari came back into the "classroom" and told the passing group where to go to meet the next proctor. "Alright. You who failed, better luck next year."

The passing group looked around at each other. Shiki enthusiastically saw that her teammates had passed. Her excitement was half filled with surprise, however.

As the passing group moved to what is known as "The Forest of Death", they all talked to each other with excitement about what could happen.

"Hey there!" Tukuto called. He had changed drastically. He was much taller, much more mature looking, and had completely different attire. His flak vest was replaced by a long open robe, and the fishnet shirt was replaced by a long sleeved white one. By looking at him, you could tell that he was full of mighty Jutsu. "This is called the Forest of Death. It's here where you're going to have to pretty much kill each other."


	21. Chapter 21: Second Stage: Mekafu Kills

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

**Talking Time!!**

Wow, the story is at 21 chapters already! That's awesome! Sadly, however, I plan on ending the story at a maximum of forty chapters. So, we can say that the story is halfway over. Isn't that disappointing? Well, I just want to say that two reviews is very depressing. Especially in the sense that one of them is from me. REVIEW, people!! Gosh! Yes, the Napoleon Dynamite phrase was necessary. Absolutely necessary. By the way, only one person passed from the last four sets of people in the first exam.

**The Second Stage of the Exams Await!!**

"It's here you all pretty much kill each other." Tukuto said, sending fear through all of the Genin. "But of course, you only kill each other if you absolutely MUST."

The Genin quietly muttered to each other, but with all of them together, it was loud enough to hear.

"Let me explain. I'll be dividing you into two teams. The teams will each have ten scrolls. Since there are forty-eight of you, each team will have twenty-four people. Each team must work together to collect all twenty scrolls. Who holds the scrolls and how many they hold is up to the teams. The teams will have no appointed leader, so the teams must decide themselves. Now, I've already got the list made." He said, and stopped for a minute to rest. "Team 1: Zikamime, Rinmota, Shiki, Ahsharta, Marksan, Yutrea, Treantara, Fleastra…" he listed all twenty four. "Everyone else is on team 2."

Shiki, Chifuta, and Katofu, were a bit afraid. They were divided against each other, and they might be required to kill each other.

"You have three days." Tukuto said. He put team one on one side of the forest, and team two on the other side. He then had the two gate guards open the gates, leading the teams in.

Team one rushed in. They all together, quietly, agreed that Zikamime should lead, and Shiki should carry five scrolls, with Rinmota holding the others.

Team two for some reason elected Chifuta as the leader, and made him carry all ten scrolls.

The first day had passed, and neither team had captured a scroll. The second day also passed. Yutrea had sensed enemy presences about ten of them. She smiled. She was ready to go in for the kill. It was the only reason she entered the exams. Killing was one of her favorite hobbies. As team 1 divided into two separate teams, with Shiki on Yutrea's, the two groups split up to find Team 2.

It was the beginning of the third day now. It was time. Yutrea began to form multiple hand signs: sheep, horse, dragon. "Earth Dragon Missile!" she yelled, and fired the missile at Ahsharta, then one at Marksan, and finally Marksan, killing all three of them. Shiki and Yutrea were the only ones left. Yutrea looked at Shiki, ready to kill.

"What the hell?" Shiki shouted, drawing attention. She fled, with Yutrea hot on pursuit.

Black Ops found the three corpses about an hour later. They immediately sent in Tukuto to stop the madness. Tukuto heard a loud scream, and then heard someone groaning as they died. Yutrea had just killed a member of the other group.

While all this was happening, Team 2 captured five of the scrolls.

Tukuto recognized the sound from his past: Mekafu was here. She had come for kills.

Tukuto immediately followed the sounds of screaming and deaths. He knew that Mekafu was using the Torturing Scream, where she screams so loud it ruptures the internal organs of the enemy's body and destroys them.

In about five minutes, he had caught up to her.

Yutrea gave him an inquisitive look, wondering who he could be. Something ticked. "You! You tried to kill me!"

Tukuto nodded. "Mekafu, you're going to die."

Yutrea, who seemed to be sixteen, grabbed her forehead and pulled her skin completely off. "So you saw through my disguise." The forty-five year old Neo-Akatsuki growled.

She focused her Chakra in her neck, and opened, and screamed.

Tukuto plugged his ears, but could still hear the piercing sream. In about ten minutes, he had exploded.

Mekafu grinned, and looked at the chunk of wood where Tukuto had stood.

"WHAT?" she screamed. Tukuto slammed his fist onto the back of her skull.

"This is it! I'm going to kill you!" Mekafu scowled at him. She pulled out four kunai in each hand, and threw them all at Tukuto. Tukuto easily dodged all eight of them. He then powered up Chakra in his hand and charged at Mekafu. "RASENGAN!" He slammed his attack into Mekafu's chest, sending her spiraling through the air into a tree, completely knocking it apart. The broken tree fell, landing on the Neo-Akatsuki, killing her.

Tukuto could no longer sense danger in the woods. He could tell that all ten scrolls had been captured. What he wondered was, how many people did she kill?

After the exam concluded, he saw that there were only eight who passed. That eight included Chifuta and Katofu. Scanning the area, Tukuto saw that Shiki was nowhere to be seen.

He then saw medical ninja carrying the injured Genin on a stretcher, hurrying away as fast as they could. He could see that Shiki was covered in cuts and scrapes.

"Alright." Tukuto said. "The third proctor is on his way. You'll start the third exam tomorrow."

Twenty minutes had passed, and Momochi Zumoto arrived.

His long black hair went down to his shoulders, and he wore black pants and a grey long sleeved shirt. He had a white armor plate on his chest, and two armor pieces on his forearms, like Zukuari. He also had two white armor plates on his shins. "Alright. The Exams are almost over. Let's go, I'll tell you what's happening tomorrow. " With that, Zumoto led the eight Genin to an arena on the far edge of the village.

Zumoto stood with the Genin in the center of the arena. "This exam will test your teamwork. Tukuto had you all compete against each other and form enemies last time. Now, you must work with these enemies for the greater good, your lives. You'll all be battled by android Shinobi, with the intent to kill. Protect yourselves, or they'll certainly kill you." Zumoto then jumped up into the stands and took a seat. The stands were filled with the visitors from the other lands. The Kages all sat together, with front row seats for the show. Zumoto made a few hand signs, and slapped the ground. Android Shinobi appeared in the arena, staring with bloodlust at the Genin.


	22. Chapter 22: Third Stage: The Red Android

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The androids, which there were about forty of them, sped around the arena, scanning all of the Genin, trying to decide who to kill first.

They decided on Inuzuka Chifuta.

In the stands, Tukuto stared at the Inuzuka weakling. "Why doesn't he have a dog, like the rest of them?" he asked.

Rinkuji, who was sitting next to him, replied. "My nephew sure is different. He never really wanted one, but I assume that he's going to want one if he gets promoted to Chuunin."

Chifuta could tell that a Densetsu no Sannin was watching him. Suddenly stricken with confidence, he jumped up into the air, and kicked two androids in the face at the same time.

He then circled around about five, and had fie kunai in each hand, throwing them into one of the androids. It sent out sparks, and fell apart.

Tukuto was impressed by this. A ninja dunce, suddenly able to kill Jounin level androids.

Chifuta then formed a few hand signs, preparing to do one of the Jutsu that he learned at the first exam. The signs he made were Tiger, Semi-Tiger, Boar, and Dog. He yelled, "Piercing Dragon Fierce Tiger!" Suddenly, a dragon made of ice appeared, and flew around the arena, and killed twenty more.

Katofu wanted in on some of this action. Tiger, Bird, Horse, Boar, Dog. He yelled, "One Horned Whale!" his attack killed five of them.

A few of the Genin were inspired by the bravery, and also began attacking. Chifuta began to use his taijutsu, and began to punch and kick a few of the androids. Within seconds, they were falling apart.

Soon, only one android was left. It transformed from blue to red, and began charging around the room, faster than the Yellow Flash of Konoha.

It took down Katofu, Chifuta, and several other Genin. Soon, there was only one left. Zumoto saw what was going on, and jumped down into the arena. He made a few hand signs: Dog, Ox, Rabbit. He yelled, "CHIDORI!" the huge ball of lightning in his fist grew and grew, and he threw it at the android, causing it to explode.

The third exam had been completed.

Zumoto leaped back into the stands and ran over to Lord Hokage.

"Shichidaime-sama!" he shouted. "Something's going on!"

"What?" Konohamaru asked.

"An attack on Konoha. Led by _them_." Zumoto scowled.

"There's only six left! How can they singlehandedly destroy Konoha?!" Konohamaru replied, shrugging it off.

"I don't care. I'm taking the other Sannin, and we're going to stop them." Zumoto growled, and ran off to warn the others.

He made it to Zukuari first. She was sitting next to her new best friend, Rinkashi of the Sand. "The Neo-Akatsuki! They're here!" Zumoto said, and both Konoichi gasped, and stood up. The three ran around the stands, trying to find Tukuto. Zukuari found him, next to Rinkuji. She warned both of them, and they also jumped up to protect the village.

Zumoto hadn't found anyone else he saw fit to defeat Neo-Akatsuki.

Rinkashi, however, found someone whom she had thought to be dead. "You!" she gasped. "You're supposed to be dead! You left the village, how did you survive the hunter-nin?!" she shouted at one of the Densetsu no Sannin no Sunagakure, Uchiha Chirimoto.


	23. Chapter 23: Jimo's Deception!

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

**Talking Time!!**

Alright, so I was originally planning to make this chapter and a chapter or two following to be the final battle with Neo-Akatsuki, and the readers I know in person were told this. However, right before I decided to write this chapter, I had a different idea. This won't be what I said it would. Sorry! Oh well, not that it matters, really. Will you people review, please? It would make me very happy! This chapter is sort of sad, it's one of the longer ones, and it has a depressing ending. Once again, review, please?

**The Story Must be Read!! **

"What the hell are you doing here?" Rinkashi demanded.

"What, I'm not allowed to watch the Chuunin Exams?" Chirimoto sarcastically said.

"I mean, what the hell are you doing _alive_? How can anyone survive with all the Hunter-nin we've got in Suna?" Rinkashi yelled.

"Defeating Hunter-nin isn't hard." Chirimoto said.

"Then why don't you try killing me?" Rinkashi yelled, knowing she could never kill her former teammate.

"Because I can tell you won't fight back." Chirimoto said.

"WHAT?" Rinkashi shouted, bringing attention over to their area.

A blonde lady was sitting a few rows behind them. She had a green hooded dress on that went down to her knees. She had the hood pulled up so that her eyes would be covered. She had black eyes; staring into them would be creepy, one would drown in their emptiness. Looking down at the arguing pair, she saw Chirimoto, and something ticked in her mind. "The Gobi." She whispered to herself, so low that no one could hear.

"Chirimoto, the Neo-Akatsuki are here. You need to leave, they'll kill you!" Rinkashi said in a hushed voice.

"Neo-Akatsuki, huh? Actually, a few friends and I killed one quite easily. His name was Shifukato or something.

_These are the murderers of my fallen comrade, _the blonde thought.

She stood up, and walked over to where the Kage group were moments ago. Once the third exam ended, they left to decide who would become Chuunin. She then leaned against the railing, looking into the arena at the tired Genin group.

"They are exhausted. If only a medic-nin would see their weakness and help them." She said to herself. "One of them, however, needs no attention. That child, Zikamime, wielder of the Sanbi. Jimo and Dread were to secure him, but Dread was slain by a vicious beast. Jimo mustn't fail. This must be accomplished if our dream is to be realized." She continued.

Jimo, wearing not his Akatsuki uniform, but instead a standard Kumo ninja uniform, since that's the village he originated from, could tell by the lady's expression that she longed for the mission to be a success. He leaped down into the arena.

Running over to Zikamime, who was terribly injured on the arms and right leg, he thought of how he was going to do this, and quickly made a plan.

"Hey." He said to the Jin Chuuriki, who was surprised at him. "I know a really good Medic-Nin. I'll take you to her." Jimo said.

Zikamime, without thinking about going with a stranger while he was injured and easily could be overtaken, agreed. Jimo helped support the Genin and they exited the arena. Only a few people noticed this, but they shrugged it off as nothing.

Once out of sight in a dark hallway, Jimo punched him in the chest, causing him to black out.

"Hey!" a voice called. "Leave the kid alone!"

"Who might you be?" Jimo asked as the man approached.

"Momochi Zumoto, and you're going to leave the kid alone." Zumoto scowled.

"Sorry, no can do. I represent Neo-Akatsuki, and this child is important in our dream." Jimo said.

"Bull shit." Zumoto said. "You just want what's inside of him." Zumoto formed a few hand signs: Clap, Bird, Snake, Monkey, Tiger, Dog. "Black Dragon Blizzard!"

The Jutsu was a success. It knocked the Neo-Akatsuki out of the way, and Zumoto was able to run in, grab Zikamime, and run out.

"Fine. You can have him. But Gobi shall be ours." Jimo said. Truth be told, it was Jimo's plan that was a success. Since all of the Neo-Akatsuki enemies (the Sannin, ANBU, and Rinkashi) were out after him, the others were able to capture Chirimoto.

Zumoto realized this, and cursed to himself.

Considering Mekafu and Rinkimi were both dead, and they were the team assigned to capture the Gobi, Kimika and the blonde lady had to do it. They were able to successfully capture him in a dark prism, and now all they had to do was transport it. However, no one would be able to stop them. They were all after Jimo. However, the remaining members, the blonde, Kimika, Jishikuji of Kusa, the two unknown, and Jimo, who just escaped, were all on their way to the hideout, which was just outside Tanzaku city.

In the woods outside the city, the group traveled around on a strange and confusing path, and eventually they were led to what seemed like an arch made out of tree trunks. They walked under it, and continued the path. Shortly, they were led to another one, which means they were now arriving. They passed under it as well, and finally they had arrived at their lair, which, on the outside, appeared to be a huge pile of fallen logs and branches. They all teleported themselves into their lair.

It was hollow. Dark. Frightening. The only fear in the room was from Chirimoto.

Chaining him to the ground next to a large statue, the group jumped onto the fingers of it. "Considering four of us our dead, this will take much longer than we want it to. This Jutsu will take five days to complete." The blonde lady said.

Everyone else nodded, and said in unison, "yes, leader."

They all made the sign of the sheep, and yelled, "Illusionary Dragon Six Seal!"

The statue's head's eyes and mouth opened, releasing a huge amount of energy, which soared over to the helpless Chirimoto. The energy grabbed him, pulling him up into the air. The Gobi's chakra was pulled out of every opening on Chirimoto's body, including the pores on his face. The energy from the statue fed on it, and pulled it into it's deadly jaws. The cycle repeated, pulling all of the energy out.

It was four and a half days passed now. The cycle continued, and all six members looked tired and slightly weakened, although they would easily be able to overtake forces such as Sannin.

The energy retreated to the statue, and Chirimoto fell to the ground.

"It is complete." Leader said, smiling wickedly.


	24. Chapter 24: Things are Looking Up Again

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

**Talking Time!!**

Slavetomyownwill here! So how do you like the story so far? I don't have many reviews right now. Three. Two of them are from the same person. One of them is from me. Isn't that depressing? Anyway, the last chapter was sad. This one isn't sad, well, you could say it is, but still.

Review, please?

**Read the story! Review! Make me happy!!**

The six members of Neo-Akatsuki looked with pride at the corpse. The only member from Kusa, Jishikuji, smiled excitedly. He absolutely loved capturing the Jin Chuuriki and sealing their Bijuu. It gave him a rush.

"How many do we have?" one of the unknown members, the girl, asked.

"Eight." Leader said. "We have all of them except the Sanbi."

"Excellent." Jimo said. "Once we get him, the world is ours."

Zumoto felt ridiculous. All because he led the ANBU and Sannin into the room to save the Sanbi, they lost the Gobi. Why hadn't they protected both if they _knew_ that they would be after both?

Tukuto and Zukuari were both hot on pursuit of Neo-Akatsuki. "We'll save Chirimoto, they won't capture him!" Zukuari assured her teammate, but he knew what would happen. It had been six days since he was captured, they _had_ to have sealed the Bijuu by now.

"Tukuto, do you have any idea where their hideout is?" Zukuari asked.

Tukuto solemnly replied, "No. I don't," which left Zukuari frightened.

"Tukuto, we'll save him. He'll be ok." Zukuari continued to try to make him feel better. His best friend was going to die.

Zumoto was also leaving on the chase. Over the years, he had gained exceptional speed. Within an hour, he had caught up.

"Guys! Let me handle Uchiha Kimika." He said.

"Why her specifically?" Zukuari asked.

"Because I want her dead. And I know how to kill her." He said.

Tukuto felt something stir inside him. "Zukuari…Zumoto…he's dead."

"How can you tell?" Zumoto asked.

"I don't know. I just can." Tukuto said sadly. He then stopped, and turned around. He started heading back to Konoha.

Zukuari and Zumoto could tell Tukuto was hurt. They followed after him.

They were almost to Konoha, and no one had said anything yet.

The dark clouds in the sky began to push down rain harder than ever.

Tukuto looked up into the sky. "I'm not going to let this happen to anyone. Never again will someone die because of my stupidity. I swear it."

His face was covered between a mix of tears and rain. His tabi were covered in mud.

Finally, they had made it. The arena had been completely cleared out, as if no one had ever been there.

Tukuto went to the Hokage Tower, Zukuari went to the Konoha Hospital, and Zumoto went to the Scroll Library.

At the hospital, Zukuari sat in the waiting room for what seemed like hours. Finally, she was admitted into the room to visit.

Shiki was lying in the hospital bed, covered in bandages. Zukuari sat down next to her.

"Miss?" Shiki asked.

"Yeah?" Zukuari replied.

"I don't want my teammates hurt anymore." Shiki said.

"No one wants that…" Zukuari was unsure of what Shiki was getting at.

"I want to become a medic-nin. I want to help them instead of being useless." Shiki continued.

Zukuari watched her. She looked at Shiki's determined expression.

"It won't be an easy road, you know." Zukuari said. "Medic-nin are difficult to train. They demand different skills, and amazing control over their Chakra." _She sure wants it. I think she'd really be willing to go through with it,_ Zukuari thought.

Tukuto spoke to a few people at the Tower, and finally found out where Chifuta lived. Within minutes, he was at the Genin's house. He knocked on the door. No one answered. He knocked again, and a lady answered. "Nara Tukuto, just because you're a legendary Sannin doesn't mean you can go knocking around at any hour you please." The woman, Chifuta's mother, said.

"Can I speak to Chifuta?" he asked.

Chifuta's mother said nothing, but gestured for Tukuto to come in. She led him upstairs to Chifuta's bedroom door, which was closed. She knocked and opened, and Tukuto walked in. She shut the door behind him.

**Talking Time!!**

No, the chapter isn't over. I just wanted to put a random author insert in here. Considering I'm a teenager right now, I just want to say that we get really annoyed when adults do exactly as Chifuta's mother did. We get really agitated when people barge in the door, or knock and open it without being told it's okay to open. What if Chifuta was doing something…inappropriate? They would have seen something they didn't need to. If you're a parent, stop doing this to your kids, please!

**Back to the story!!**

Zumoto was studying a scroll at the library, trying to figure out the inner workings of the Sharingan. So far, all he had learned was that it can copy _any_ move, except a kekkai genkai. He was trying to understand how the Mangekyo Sharingan could possibly work. If breaking Genjutsu wasn't how to beat it, how did he save Zukuari from the dark spell Tsukiyoomi?

He saw out of the corner of his eye Katofu, also reading a scroll, trying to figure out how to do a certain Jutsu.

Zumoto set the scroll down, and walked over to the boy, and sat down at the desk with him. "Hey there." He said.

"Oh, hi. Umm…you were the third proctor, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm Zumoto. You're Katofu, right?" he replied.

"Yeah. Hey, do you know how to do this move?" he pushed the scroll over to Zumoto, who looked at it.

"Yeah. You see, the scroll has a mistake in it. You don't focus the Chakra in your arms, you focus it in your hands. _Then_ you punch the air, and the fireball should come out and shoot at your opponent." Zumoto explained.

"Oh…I guess that makes sense." Katofu said.

"Hey, I've got a lot more Jutsu than that Chidori you saw in the stadium. If you ever want me to teach you some, I'll be in Konoha for a few more weeks." Zumoto suggested.

"Yeah. I guess so." Katofu said, but he was unsure if he _really_ wanted to or not.

Chifuta was laying in his bed reading manga when Tukuto entered. All he was wearing was a loose pair of pants, he was planning on going to bed soon.

"Hi. I'm not sure if you remember me, I'm—" Tukuto said.

"Yeah, I remember you. You're the second proctor, Tukuto." Chifuta said.

"Yeah. I saw you in the arena last week, and I was wondering if you'd want to come on a mission with me for the next two weeks. On the way, I can teach you some new Jutsu." Tukuto said.

"If my mom says it's ok, I will." Chifuta said.

"I talked to your mom and dad about it a few days ago. Both of them said it would be alright if you stayed with me the whole time." Tukuto said.

"Ok. When does the mission start?" Chifuta asked.

"Three days from now." Tukuto said, and Chifuta smiled. "But you look tired, so I'm going to go now. G'night." He opened the door, and left, closing it. He walked through the hall downstairs, and left, so Chifuta's parents could go to sleep.

It seemed like things were turning up, at least a little bit.


	25. Chapter 25: Proteges and Senseis

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Talking Time!!**

Holy crap! Only 10-15 chapters left! What am I going to do when I end the story? Usually, when I'm really bored and don't want to play video games or read Naruto manga, I get on the computer and type the next few chapters while I watch TV or listen to music. What ever will I do? This is going to be like when I was reading Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. I would sit and read every second I could, and eventually, I finished all 960 or so pages. Afterwards, I was so bored. I had absolutely nothing to do! Eventually I found _something,_ although right now I don't remember what it was. Oh well, I guess I'm going to follow the same path again! When will I ever learn my lesson?

**Protégés and Senseis Await!**

The Densetsu no Sandaime Sannin no Konohagakure all stood on the bridge in Konoha. They exchanged glances, and could easily tell that everyone had important news.

"Me and the Uchiha girl are going away for training as soon as she gets discharged." Zukuari said. "We'll be going really far away, so we won't be disturbed."

"Really? Me and Chifuta are going on a long mission starting in two days!" Tukuto exclaimed. "We'll be travelling all over the continent!"

"If you're going to Kirigakure, stop by and say hi. Me and Katofu are going to be there for at least a year; he wants me to teach him some of the Jutsu I know."

They each exchanged semi-awkward glances.

"This is just like back in the day." Zukuari said. "Remember how we were all tired of our cell with Shimotu-sensei, so we sought out training from the Nidaime Sannin? Look at us now, we've all got our own little protégés."

"Wow…it is." Zumoto said. A cold chill ran up his spine.

"Are we getting old _already_?" Tukuto asked. For a moment, they all looked at each other, and finally, after holding it in, they burst out into laughter.

**Talking Time!!**

This is turning out just like in the actual Naruto series, with Orochimaru, Sasuke, Tsunade, Sakura, Jiraiya, and Naruto. Isn't that peculiar? Am I planning something? Who knows??

**Returning to Amazingness! The Fanfiction awaits!!**

"Shimotu…" Zukuari said quietly, then raised her voice. "He was the best cell leader we could ever have had."

"He was amazing." Tukuto said. "I'm surprised _he_ wasn't the Shichidaime."

Zumoto, without saying anything, let them know he agreed with a nod.

"Is there anything special you guys are teaching them?" Zukuari asked.

"Chifuta's going to know Rasengan within a year." Tukuto said. "He's also learning the Kage Bunshin and Rokudaime's famous Ninja Centerfold."

"I'm going to make sure Katofu learns the Chidori spell." Zumoto said.

"Yeah, and if Shiki can't do the Chakra Scalpel, I'll make sure she figures out how." Zukuari said.

With that, they could tell what the future would bring.

Jishikuji, Jimo, the two unknown, Kimika, and Leader. The Neo-Akatsuki.

Surely, they could secure the last Bijuu before their deaths came. The female unknown member was terminally ill. Her death would come within one week.

The other unknown member, the male, was sentenced to death that night by Leader for failure to capture the Sanbi during the exams. Within an hour, the Neo-Akatsuki would slaughter their friend.

"Kimika." Leader said.

"Yes, Leader-sama?" the Uchiha asked.

"I want Momochi Zumoto destroyed." Leader replied to her. "One year from this day, destroy him."

"Of course." Kimika grinned. _They've got to have become stronger by now, how will I be able to kill him? I barely survived last time,_ she thought, unsure of whether her statement would come true or not.

"Jishikuji." Leader said. "I want you to murder Aburame Zukuari. One year from this day, slaughter her."

"Yes, my lady." Jishikuji said, and smiled. _From what I hear, she's afraid of spiders. It's amazing how things turn out; spiders happen to be my personal Kuchiyose._

"Jimo." Leader said. "Assassinate Nara Tukuto one year from this day. I want his bones broken and his head crushed."

"Yeah! I hate that punk, this'll be fun!" Jimo excitedly shouted. _This is going to be awesome! Finally, I'll get my revenge on him for destroying my comrade!_

"You two. Both of you will be dead before these three will be murdered. I want you to know that although I now despise both of you, you were excellent comrades." Leader said to the two unknown members.

And with that, Leader summoned her Kuchiyose, a human-head sized moth. The moth had large fangs, and within moments, had devoured the male unknown's heart. "Excellent." She said, and the moth disappeared.

Five Neo-Akatsuki were remaining, soon to be four. Four criminal ninja had to murder three Sannin, and at the same time, secure the final Bijuu. Once that goal is accomplished, world domination would be imminent.

**Talking Time!!**

Yes, I know, this was a very short chapter. Please forgive me, for I really want you to continue reading. I know that I'm not that good at building suspense, but I'm trying. After I finish my story, I _might_ make one of my friends write a sequel. A few of them suggested I write one, but I don't think I really want to. They think that my story should be the Yondaime Sannin, but then I would have to create a whole new band of enemies and such. That would be really hard, considering the fact that almost all of the characters are based on real-life people that I know. I would really like to do that with the (if I write one) sequel, but I don't know if I will or not.

**Chapter 26 coming soon!**


	26. Chapter 26: Rising Fear! Tsukiyoomi?

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

**Talking Time!!**

Hey everybody, sorry this one took so long, I've got a writer's block going on and stuff. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks again for reading this far; honestly, I think the story will end around Chapter 30 or so. There's your warning, and the second-last chapter will have the official ending preview. Yes, I will include a preview for the last chapter.

**The story is waiting for your reading. You MUST read.**

The Neo-Akatsuki had their plans made. By now, the diseased had died. There were only _four_ left, four enemies of the Sannin and their protégés. Nine months had passed, and the time for the Neo-Akatsuki's assassination of the Sannin was coming fast.

Meanwhile, the Sannin had been undergoing serious training with their protégés. Shiki by now was able to revive dead animals and cure serious wounds in under thirty minutes. Tukuto had taught Chifuta how to do many of Naruto's moves, such as the Kage Bunshin and Ninja Harem. Yes, Chifuta was embarrassed to be learning the Harem technique. Katofu was taught Chidori, and a few dark Jutsu. The battle with Neo-Akatsuki would be a serious match.

Zukuari and Shiki were on their way back to Konoha; Shiki had learned all she could in the Land of Tea. She was ready for more serious training, working with real humans.

Tukuto and Chifuta had returned to Konoha a few months ago.

Zumoto and Katofu, however, were still in Kirigakure. The Neo-Akatsuki were aware of this, and Kimika was in the Land of Water, waiting. Since Leader was miles away and would have no knowledge of it, she decided she would spring her attack within a week.

Zumoto could sense the high level of bloodlust, and could easily tell that a Neo-Akatsuki was in Kirigakure, wanting to kill. Zumoto silently went over it in his mind: _Okay, so Shifukato, Dread, Rinkimi, the two unknown, and Mekafu are all dead. So all that's left would be the leader, Kimika, Jimo, and Jishikuji. Hmm…based on how things would work, the Leader would be in hiding, Jimo would probably be after Tukuto, and Jishikuji is most likely after Zukuari. I can figure that out based on simple figures: Jishikuji has extensive knowledge on medical Jutsu, so he would best be able to counter and avoid her attacks. Jimo has a huge lust for killing Tukuto, who knows why, but Tukuto said he does. And that would leave Kimika for me; she's an Uchiha, and most Uchiha have revenge flowing through their blood, which would mean that she probably wants revenge for me breaking her Tsukiyoomi. _He was able to piece together that much information from a simple feeling. His ability to put "two and two" together is amazing; he'd make a formidable foe against anyone.

"What's wrong, sensei?" Katofu asked.

"Katofu, have you ever fought an S-Rank criminal?" Zumoto asked him.

"No, but I saw a battle happen. I saw Aburame Zukuari kill twelve people, all at once! Two of them had the black cloak with red clouds! And they all had really creepy eyes!" the Genin stated

"Excellent." Zumoto said. "You'll get to see another battle pretty soon. Uchiha Kimika, a member of Neo-Akatsuki, is here in Kiri. She's planning on killing me; I can sense it. We're going to kill her first, and it's going to be pretty intense. I'll want you watching, and try and learn some of the Jutsu I use. Oh, and don't look her in the eyes, she'll capture you under her spell."

"You…you want ME around an S-Rank criminal?" Katofu was shocked by Zumoto's decision.

"Yeah." Zumoto said. "We're going to find her, and we're going to destroy her. You'll get to see my own version of Chidori."

"You made your own?" Katofu asked, amazed by his sensei's skills.

Later on that evening, in Zumoto's house, which he inherited when his parents died, Katofu couldn't sleep at all. He was in fear, wondering how on earth he could survive against an S-Rank criminal, whether he would be fighting or not, especially when he can't even _look_ at his opponent, she might capture him in some dark Jutsu.

The next day, where Katofu was sleep-deprived, and Zumoto was equipped with various scrolls and the like, the two stood on the beach of the island. Zumoto had learned after studying for the past twenty years, that Kimika prefers fighting in sandy areas; it helps her relax, which somehow helps her defeat her enemies.

Katofu, trying to distract himself from the fear of the upcoming battle, watched the waves crash onto the shore. He let his bare feet rest in the water. He noticed a small black fish gasping for air near one of them; the shore brought it in, and never took it back. He picked it up, and set it back in the water, saving it's life. As soon as the fish was back in the water, a large splash of water right next to Katofu exploded into the air. Zumoto ran over to Katofu, and grabbed him and threw him out of the way. Katofu could tell by Zumoto's reaction what was going on. Kimika was standing before the Sannin, intent on killing him. Zumoto made the sign of the tiger, then snake, and ending with tiger again. He raised his arms into the air and yelled, "ACID RAIN!" he then shielded himself and Katofu with a watery shell, and watched Kimika disintegrate into the sand. However, as expected, all they saw as a log.

Kimika was standing right outside the vortex, and punched it ferociously, breaking it down.

The Sannin and protégé looked at her. As Zumoto stood up, Katofu backed up as far as he could and still observe clearly.

The most ferocious battle with a Neo-Akatsuki so far was about to begin.

**Talking Time!!**

I was told by a few people that Zumoto never does anything, so here comes his huge battle, which I plan on making at least until Chapter 28. By the end of the story, something awesome shall happen. Totally awesome, I might add.

-slavetomyownwill


	27. Chapter 27: Momochi Zumoto

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

**Talking Time!!**

Yes, it's true. The story officially ends at Chapter 30. Which means within the next three chapters (excluding this one) four Neo-Akatsuki must be killed. Will I be able to wrap this story up, even with all the different things going on? Of course I will! I am THE slavetomyownwill, creator of this story, so I can do whatever I want with it. Even if that means quitting. Which I won't. Don't worry.

**Think of something clever to put here that leads to the story.**

Zumoto instantly made a large amount of hand signs, too fast to read or predict. Large orbs of thunder appeared at both hands, and he instantly used his barrage of Chidori-powered punches on Kimika, who was thrown back by the massive blow.

The villain stood up, and threw off her cloak. Underneath, she still wore her old Shinobi outfit, a green tank top and navy pants. Along her arms were several tattoos.

Zumoto could see that his attack wasn't nearly enough. This woman was powerful.

In the meantime, Jimo had begun his attack on Tukuto, which, unknowingly to the rest of the world, was going to be very short.

In Zumoto's battle with Kimika, the konoichi opened her form-shifting eyes. "Tsukiyoomi!" she shouted, capturing Zumoto in her spell.

_Zumoto was hanging on a noose. A huge crowd cheered as Kimika tied the rope tighter around his neck. She then started sliding over him, giving him a cold chill to start the torture._

"I've got to stop this!" Katofu said quietly, and made a few hand signs. Secretly, he had been forming his own Jutsu. He swung his arms around in a circle, and the waves from the ocean started to merge together and swirl upward into a watery tornado. The cyclone spun around before it capture both Zumoto and Kimika. Katofu sent a huge stream of water to pull Zumoto out, and left Kimika in for another few minutes, before he had to release the spell and conserve his Chakra.

"That was awesome, kid. Now get ready for something even _more_ awesome." Zumoto smiled as two diseased villagers—who each had three days left—entered the area, joining in on the fight.

Zumoto made a few hand signs: Tiger, Dog, Dragon, Clap. He smiled as the two villagers fell to the ground, and in their place rose two wooden coffins. The –as they were brought back to this age—twenty year old Uchiha Sasuke and twenty-three year old Temari stood looking at their child.

"Sasuke-kun, it's Kimika." Temari said.

"She's stooped to a new low to join trash like Akatsuki." Sasuke agreed.

"Your protégé, Momochi Zumoto, reincarnated us, right?" Temari asked.

"That makes him our master. We shall kill Kimika, here and now." Sasuke smiled.

The pair stepped out of the coffins, and walked to their daughter.

"Long time no see, mom…dad." Kimika said. "You two won't die, someone will have to seal you away. And I know just the person to do it."

Zumoto, Sasuke, and Temari all three approached the enemy. Sasuke, powering up Chidori, Temari, powering up the Kamaitachi Fan, and Zumoto, with the sword of his uncle, Zabuza Momochi, were ready to kill her.

Kimika used a Jutsu copied from the child of Yamato. She made the sign of the snake, and Temari and Sasuke were trapped in a –appearing out of nowhere—wooden cage.

Zumoto would have to fight this one on his own. He ran at Kimika, swinging the great sword, which slammed into her leg. He jumped up against the cage wall and off of it, soaring through the sky, and he sliced her shoulder with the sword.

They both used the Kuchiyose no Jutsu at the same time: Zumoto summoned Nista, his gigantic snake, as Kimika summoned a large rabbit.

The snake sped towards the rabbit at full speed, just like his father, Lord Manda, would have done. It wrapped itself around the enemy's Kuchiyose, and dug it's fangs into it's head. All Kimika was successful in doing was wasting chakra by summoning; her Kuchiyose was now dead.

Nista chased down Kimika, and Zumoto laughed, watching the Neo-Akatsuki member run for her dear life. Kimika turned around and swung her arm, and started running again. Zumoto didn't understand what that meant. He then felt a slight pinch in his neck, but brushed it off as nothing. He had more important things to worry about, like the battle at hand. Kimika had leaped up onto Nista's head, and now stood by Zumoto, glaring him in the eye. Zumoto slammed his fist into Kimika's jaw, knocking her off. He leaped off, following her. In the air, he punched and kicked her as much as humanly possible, and as she fell to the ground, he slammed his fist into her stomach. She weakly rose to her knees.

"You know…" she moaned, "even if you defeat all of us…Neo-Akatsuki will always exist…so long as there is a world, there will be a team of criminals who wish to control it…the dream will never die…" She then fell to the ground, gasping for air. Zumoto picked up the sword, and slashed through her waist, leaving her cut in two.

The battle between Jimo and Tukuto was starting and ending at almost the same time. Tukuto knew that there was only one way he could defeat Jimo, the criminal was too strong to fight. He made a large amount of hand signs: Snake, Boar, Sheep, Rabbit, Dog, Rat, Bird, Horse, Snake, Clap. In front of Tukuto rose a large ghostly figure, the Death God.

**Talking Time!!**

Well, for those of us who know Naruto left and right, upside down, front and back, twisted up; etc., we know what's going to happen in this battle. If you don't, I don't want to spoil it, so go read the part in the actual Naruto where Orochimaru summons the First and Second Hokage, and the Third Hokage summons the Death God to seal them away. Just read it, you'll find out.

**Chapter 28-30 will be up soon. After that, this story shall be complete.**


	28. Chapter 28: Nara Tukuto

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

**Talking Time!!**

So yeah, this is Chapter 28, which may possibly be the saddest chapter yet. At least, if you ask me, it's the saddest chapter yet.

**Nara Tukuto awaits!!**

Arising behind Tukuto was the large ghostly figure, the Death God. Inside him was a countless amount of sealed souls, including the First and Second Hokage, and all of Lord Orochimaru's Jutsus.

"Jimo!" Tukuto yelled. "Prepare for death!" The Death God's arms went through Tukuto's body and grabbed the Neo-Akatsuki, who was suddenly filled with shock. He had studied intently on all of Tukuto's Jutsus, but he had never heard anything of this one.

The Death God's fingers started sliding into Jimo's body, reaching around for his keirakukei, the circulatory system of the body's Chakra. Eventually, the hands started to pull out of the enemy, and inside them was a shadowy apparition of Jimo, covered in ancient markings that not even Tukuto could read. The God of Death kept pulling on Jimo's spirit. So far, all that was out was the arms and torso.

"What…what are you doing to me?" Jimo demanded.

"Destroying you. Your spirit…is going to be sealed…" Tukuto said proudly.

"You think you can defeat me?" Jimo scowled.

"I **know** I'm going to defeat you. I can tell…you're going to die." Tukuto smiled as he said this. Something in the back of his mind stirred.

"_Tukuto…you've made a great progress." His sensei, Uzumaki Naruto, smiled and said. "The Summoning of the Death God is a very powerful move…and it's forbidden." _

"_Why? Why shouldn't I ever use it?" Tukuto asked. The fourteen year old Chuunin was utterly bewildered._

"_Because. The Death God will summon any number of enemies you grab onto. However, once you release him and let him go, you sacrifice your life." Naruto explained. "Just summoning him will kill you."_

"_Then why did you teach it to me?" Tukuto asked._

"_Just in case." Naruto said, and smiled at his protégé._

Twenty-one years had passed since that day, and Tukuto had never had to use the move. He knew all-to-well that his death was coming sooner than he wanted it to.

"What's going on?" Jimo demanded. "How are you doing this?"

Tukuto smiled at his enemy. "Jimo, you fool. It's too late for you."

Tukuto watched as the hands pulled out the rest of Jimo's spirit. Jimo's body stood their for a moment, horrified. Eventually, he fell to the ground, crumpled. Tukuto's shirt was ripped open by the spirit's power, and pulled into Tukuto. The Death God let go, and a seal was formed on Tukuto's abdomen. Jimo was dead.

Tukuto stood there for a minute. He looked around, trying to find more enemies.

"Inuzuka Chifuta…you're the best protégé I could ask for." He told his apprentice, who watched the battle with amazement. "Rise high." He made the sign of the tiger, and yelled, "Infuin Kai!"

The Death God nodded at the Sannin, and dispersed into the air.

Tukuto smiled, a genuine smile. He knew that he had played his part. His role in life was complete. He fell to the ground, all life flowing out of him.

"Tukuto!" Chifuta yelled, and ran over to his fallen master. "Tukuto!"

Chifuta then remembered back at the Chuunin Exams.

_Chifuta looked at the paper and read the title to himself: Summoning of the Death God. He skimmed over it, and memorized the hand signs within two minutes. He continued looking at the page, and down at the bottom, in small print, he saw the phrase: Self Sacrifice. Forbidden Jutsu._

_He wondered why Zukuari would have them learn a forbidden move. _

He finally understood. The phrase "self-sacrifice" never made any sense. It all made sense now. Chifuta stood there alone. The battlefield, an empty area in the middle of a forest, was cold. Two dead bodies lay on the ground. Chifuta looked at Jimo, giving it a cold stare. He then shifted his attention to Tukuto. He smiled with admiration. _So this is what it means to be a _Shinobi, he thought. _Doing whatever it takes to protect the ones you care about._

Chifuta was ready to go home. He tried to lift up Tukuto to carry him back to Tanzaku City, but failed. His sensei was too heavy. Chifuta used the move his sensei had been teaching him. Chifuta slit his finger. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Sheep. "KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!!" he screamed, and slammed his hand onto the ground. A huge cloud of dust appeared, and standing before him was the great Gamabunta. The very old toad looked angrily at Chifuta.

"Kid, don't you know I'm retired? I don't fight anymore, nor do I be summoned." Gamabunta shouted to him.

"I need your help." Chifuta said. His sensei's death had brought him sudden courage. "My sensei, Nara Tukuto, protégé of your friend, Uzumaki Naruto, is dead. Bring him back to Konohagakure for me."

"Kid, you know you're one of the only four people to earn the privilege of riding me?" Gamabunta said.

Chifuta cowered a little bit, thinking Gamabunta was angry. It took him a moment to realize that Gamabunta had complimented him. The toad reached down and picked up the pair, and lifted them up. He set them down gently on top of his head. He then jumped into the air, and sped towards Konoha with great haste.

Gamabunta stood at the Hokage's palace. He bent over, and Chifuta and Tukuto were dropped off. Chifuta knocked on the door, and a few ANBU members carried the fallen Sannin to the office.

Sarutobi Konohamaru was sad about the loss, but quickly moved on. Within moments, it seemed as if it had happened years ago.

Nara Tukuto, the son of Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru, had died. His tale was complete.

**Chapter 29 coming soon.**


	29. Chapter 29: No!

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

**Talking Time!!**

Slavetomyownwill here. The story ends in Chapter 30. This is the second-to-last chapter. Isn't that depressing?

"**Won't you please read me, dear?" Chapter 29 asks sweetly.**

Momochi Zumoto stood on the beach over the Neo-Akatsuki's crumpled pieces. He suddenly remembered the pinch he had felt in his neck while on Nista, and rubbed the bump where he felt it. He felt a tiny metal sphere in the center of the bump, and grabbed it. He pulled it out, revealing a needle attached to it. Handing it to his protégé, he asked, "Katofu, do you know what this is?"

Katofu instantly answered, "A poison dart, sir. You'll be dead in three hours."

Zumoto's eyes grew huge. "Th-three hours?"

"Yeah. But like you said when we got here, there's no medic-nin in Kirigakure these days. Your only hope is to get Zukuari and Shiki to come, but they're all the way in Konoha." Katofu said.

"Damn. **DAMN!!**" he yelled ferociously. There was so much more he had to do in life, he couldn't just die now. "Look, kid. There's _one_ more Jutsu I want you to learn before I leave."

"What is it, Zumoto-sensei?" Katofu asked. He was eager to learn the final Jutsu of his training.

"It's one I made myself. I call it the Queen of Shadows." Zumoto said.

Within an hour, Katofu had mastered the technique. "It's pretty easy. Why would you invent such a simple Jutsu to use on enemies like Neo-Akatsuki?"

"When you use it, you'll see it's power." Zumoto said.

"Sensei…" Shiki said to her master.

"Yes?" Zukuari asked, wondering what her protégé could possibly want.

"I think…well, I can't help but get the feeling that we're needed somewhere." Shiki said.

"We're only a few minutes from Konoha! How could we get somewhere and help someone and get back in time? We have to be at the hospital in an hour!" Zukuari said in a somewhat loud voice.

"Yeah, but I get the feeling one of your teammates is in trouble." Shiki said. She was somehow born with the unique ability to sense when her friends were in danger, no matter where they were.

"Where is the danger coming from?" Zukuari asked, and Shiki pointed west.

"Odd. Tukuto was east…so west is…ZUMOTO!" Zukuari instantly put out a large amount of hand signs, and she and Shiki were engulfed in an orb of Chakra. Zukuari then executed the transportation technique, and both konoichi were teleported to the beach in Kiri.

"Zumoto! You're in danger, what's wrong?" Zukuari shouted, running to her teammate.

"Poison dart…" Zumoto coughed. His death was coming in a half hour.

"I can heal you quick enough." Her hand were instantly surrounded by waves of green Chakra. "Shiki! Help me! Mystical Palm technique."

Her protégé entered the hand signs: Tiger, Horse, Rabbit, Dog. Her hands were surrounded by Chakra as well.

Both of the medic-nin rushed to the collapsed Zumoto and asked where he was injected, and Katofu pointed the location out. The two placed their hands there, and pushed down hard enough to choke him; however, within moments, he was better.

"Alright, Shiki. Good work." Zukuari said. "Zumoto, earlier in the week, Shiki and I killed Jishikuji, one of the Neo-Akatsuki. I heard Tukuto killed Jimo, so that means there's only one left: Leader."

"Good thing, 'cause I hear she's in Konoha to pay the Hokage a 'visit.'" Zumoto said.

The four were ready to go within a day. They would be in Konohagakure as soon as they could, which would be about a day if they used the teleportation technique. (Teleporting a group of people an incredibly long distance not only takes a lot of Chakra, but a lot of time.)

What was said was done, and they had arrived on Wednesday.

As they walked through the village, people gave them sad looks, as if they felt sorry for them.

One villager had approached the group and said softly, "Sorry about your friend." They had no idea what that meant, though.

By the time they had reached the Hokage's office, Zukuari was steaming mad. _Why the hell won't anyone tell us what happened? Why do they have to just leave vague hints?_

When they entered the office, Sarutobi Konohamaru sat at his desk, and sternly told the group, "Sorry to say it, but Tukuto sacrificed himself with the Death God to kill Jimo."

"Huh?" Zukuari asked. She knew what Konohamaru meant, but she had to ask again to make sure.

Konohamaru simplified the statement by saying, "Nara Tukuto's dead."

**Chapter 30 Preview**

(Please note that there are gaps between what certain things that happen in the preview, so it may be hard to follow. It _should_ make sense in the final chapter.)

Leader rose behind the Hokage. Her hooded Neo-Akatsuki robe was longer than the others, rather than going to her calf, it went to her ankles. She sleeves were noticeably longer as well, they completely covered her hands and went down to her knees. Long blonde hair flowed out of the hole in the hood. All one could see of her face was her nose and chin. "Greetings. I am Chikatoki. Welcome to the nightmare realm."

"Chirimoto…" Zukuari said softly.

"Ameratasu!" Chikatoki yelled.

"See this? These are all the protectors of Konoha. All of them fell in battle. The dream, the will of fire, is pointless. All die. Why fight for life?"

"KATOFU!!" Shiki yelled.

The three charged at the enemy, slamming their attacks into her.

"Hey guys!"

**Look forward to it!**


	30. Chapter 30: The Dream of a Hokage

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

**Talking Time!!**

Wow, this is the last chapter of Densetsu no Sandaime Sannin no Konohagakure. I'm sitting here on the couch typing, and I'm not sure whether to feel excited or empty. Anyway, look forward to this chapter, I plan on making it BIG!

-slavetomyownwill

**Chapter 30: The Dream of a Hokage**

Zukuari, Zumoto, Shiki, and Katofu stood in the Hokage Office door. He had just told them that Tukuto had died, and Zukuari's face was covered in tears. What scared her more was that Konohamaru fell dead at his desk that very moment. There was a dagger in his back.

_No wonder I felt danger when I entered the room,_ Zumoto thought, _she's here._ "Everyone get ready!" he yelled.

Leader rose behind the Hokage. Her hooded Neo-Akatsuki robe was longer than the others, rather than going to her calf, it went to her ankles. She sleeves were noticeably longer as well, they completely covered her hands and went down to her knees. Long blonde hair flowed out of the hole in the hood. All one could see of her face was her nose and chin. "Greetings. I am Chikatoki. Welcome to the nightmare realm." The hood fell, and her Sharingan changed form. "TSUKIYOOMI!" she screamed. All four were caught in her spell.

_Zukuari was in a small room full of spiders, crawling up and down her legs. _

_Zumoto was falling from a dangerous height._

_Shiki was alone in a graveyard, where the dead were rising from their graves, walking towards her, moaning._

_Katofu stood silently in the dark. A large shadowy face appeared in front of him, that of a phantom, smiling wickedly._

Chikatoki was scaring the hell out of the four ninja, and was so absorbed in their nightmare that she dropped out of reality for a second too long.

A kunai knife poked each of the four protagonists in the shoulder, waking them up.

Shiki and Katofu looked bewildered at their rescuer, as Zukuari and Zumoto looked with a mix between amazement and bewilderment.

A male ninja stood behind them. He had a Sunagakure flak vest on over his dark brown pants and shirt. His Suna hitae-ate was tied around his head. His black eyes looked at Chikatoki, avoiding contact with hers.

"Chirimoto…" Zukuari said softly.

"You called, I answered. Now let's rock this bitch." Chirimoto said, smiling. "A friend of mine transferred her life into me, so it looks like I can help you out once again."

Chikatoki was outraged. "What the hell?" she shouted. Chirimoto was _not_ supposed to come back to life, even though he no longer has the Gobi, it doesn't matter. He. Is. Supposed. To. Be. Dead.

The group of five stood up and looked determined. A moth fluttered in the window and rested on Chikatoki's shoulder. All five could tell that a moth is her Kuchiyose.

"Ameratasu!" Chikatoki yelled. Black flame poured out of her hands, and started crawling around the room. All six leaped out as quickly as they could, and successfully escaped the collapsing building.

"Shiki. Seal it." "Katofu, stay with her." Zukuari commanded, as Zumoto added the second part.

The two Chuunin –they were promoted after the exams—stayed behind as the three Jounin chased down the enemy.

Chikatoki leaped into the air, landing on top of the Ninja Academy. She pointed at Hokage Rock. "See this? These are all the protectors of Konoha. All of them fell in battle. The dream, the will of fire, is pointless. All die. Why fight for life?"

"We fight…to protect!" Zukuari shouted.

"Just what the hell does that mean?" Chikatoki asked.

"We fight to protect our village, no matter the outcome. We want an end to darkness, and we will fight to the end to protect that dream!" Zukuari shouted.

"The dream…is useless. The only path a Shinobi must face…is death." Chikatoki said coldly.

Shiki put in the hand signs for the Fire Suppressor Jutsu, and sealed the black flames into a scroll. She and Katofu stayed where they were, and looked up at the top of Ninja Academy. "What's going on up there?" Katofu asked.

"I don't know." Shiki said.

"All my life I've been a coward." Katofu said.

"What are you talking about?" Shiki asked.

"My life has no purpose. All I do is sit back and let the others do the work. This time, I'm going to do something!" he shouted.

"No! You're not strong enough, you'll die!" Shiki screamed.

Katofu stood up, and Shiki did the same. He reached over and gave her a hug, one that meant something. "Then I guess this is goodbye."

He leapt into the air, landing on top of the academy.

"KATOFU!!" Shiki yelled.

"Who might you be?" Chikatoki asked, half-surprised by the little leaf's bravery. In fact, all the ninja on top of the academy were shocked by his sudden act.

"Mitarashi Katofu, a.k.a. the death of Neo-Akatsuki!" he said, and smiled.

"Tough words, brat." Chikatoki cackled. "But someone who says something and can't fulfill it…"

"What?" Katofu asked.

"Will die." Chikatoki said.

What she had said didn't make any sense, but what she had meant was: if someone says something and can't fulfill it, she will kill them for breaking their word.

Inuzuka Chifuta was also on the academy roof now, along with his aunt, Rinkuji, formerly known as X397.

Shiki leapt up to join in.

Cell Tufushimoto, minus the leader, stood together.

Chifuta held his hand to the side, focusing Chakra.

Katofu made the signs: Ox, Rabbit, Monkey.

Shiki made the signs: Tiger, Snake, Rat, Tiger.

"RASENGAN!"

"CHIDORI!"

"CHAKRA SCALPEL!"

The three charged at the enemy, slamming their attacks into her.

Chikatoki exploded into a cloud of dust.

"Congratulations." She said, suddenly atop Shodai. "You little kids expended your Chakra on a shadow clone."

"I have an idea." Katofu said.

"What?" Zumoto asked.

"Lend me your Chakra, and I'll use the new Jutsu." Katofu said.

"No. You can't." Zumoto said.

"Why?" Katofu asked.

"Doing so steals away three-fourths of your lifespan." Zumoto explained.

"Then why did you teach it to me?" Katofu asked.

"Just in case." Zumoto smiled.

"Zumoto, you can use the Ressurection to the Impure World, right?" Zukuari asked. "Suppose you brought back Tukuto. How would that work?"

"I'd need a sacrifice. I could bring him, but he would be a slave to my will, so I'd be his master. Anyway, I could command him to be exactly the same as he was, no matter what. However, the only way to kill someone from that Jutsu is to seal them in the Death God. He would live forever." Zumoto explained.

"Do it." Zukuari commanded.

The rest of them looked at her with bewilderment. She wanted her friend back more than anything. "Who's the sacrifice?" Zumoto asked. All suspected her to offer herself.

"HER." Zukuari pointed at Chikatoki.

"Makes sense." Zumoto said, and everyone nodded in agreement. He entered the hand signs, and Chikatoki crumpled to the ground. A coffin shot up from the ground, and the door was kicked open. The thirty-five year old Nara Tukuto emerged from it. "Hey guys!" he said.

"Impressive. You can use shadow clones to resurrect real people." Chikatoki said, now on Nidaime.

They understood. Since Tukuto was resurrected from a shadow clone, the Jutsu was altered. He could in fact be killed. He was just like a regular Shinobi, as if he had never even died.

This battle was turning out better than they had expected. Rinkashi had even joined in after a while.

Zukuari, Tukuto, Zumoto, Shiki, Chifuta, Katofu, Chirimoto, Rinkashi, and Rinkuji looked at Chikatoki, with the intent to kill.

"Let's do this!" Zumoto shouted.

**END**


	31. Afterword, a note from Slavetomyownwill

AFTERWORD

**AFTERWORD**

Hiya! Slavetomyownwill here! I decided to write an afterword, because if you ask me, they're pretty fancy. They make stories seem more high-class, because they have a big message from the author at the end.

Anyway, I was told by some of my friends that my story is hard to follow, but good. What is my comment on this? I probably would like to say that I have little talent at sticking on one topic, but I tried. Anyway, the whole thing in the beginning about going from city to city and walking to all these faraway places was just me putting in random cities, just because I couldn't decide which one, and I thought it would be cooler to have them keep changing their mind.

If I haven't added this in one of my "talking time" sections, almost ALL of the characters are based on my real-life friends. Well, some of them I don't really like, so I put them in Neo-Akatsuki. Anyway, I'm going to say some things.

-Tukuto was based off of…ME!! This is most likely why he seems to do everything, with everyone else as back-up. Anyway, I have a bad habit of making myself awesome if I put myself into a story.

-Zukuari was based off of one of my friends who loves coffee. I don't know why I didn't insert anything about her love for coffee and turkeys (but not as food!) into this story, but I made her really emotional and seemed to exaggerate it and give her rapid mood swings in the beginning, but I'm not sure why.

-Zumoto was based off of my partner. (Non romantic partner, though!) Actually, he's my partner in the sense that we're going to be president and vice-president of a group in our area. Anyway, for some reason I made Zumoto mean, even though the person he's based off of isn't that mean…usually. His parents were Kisame's sister and Zabuza's brother. What a weird combination.

-Rinkuji was based off of a girl I go to school with. I'm not sure why I put her in ANBU, but it seemed to work for the story. I had her as an Inuzuka because she seems to like that clan.

-Shiki was based off of a girl who Zukuari and I got into Naruto, yes!! Anyway, she seems to be dark and evil, because she wears black all the time. However, she isn't, she's really nice. I kind of made her character obnoxious, even though the real-life isn't. I guess it's just to help the story flow? She's the real life protégé of the real life Zukuari. However, they just act like friends.

-Chifuta was based off of my real life protégé, who is only a year younger than me. Pretty much, as my apprentice, I let him borrow my Naruto books and stuff. He helped me out with the story by giving me ideas when I was in writer's block. He's awesome, and he got me 20 to my favorite coffee shop for my birthday!!

-Katofu was based off of someone who is REALLY quiet and never talks, so I had no personality to work with. That made writing Katofu's character pretty easy, because I didn't have to worry about clashing with the real life personality, but I think I did. I mean, going into a deadly battle just because? That's so unlike him. Anyway, he's the real life protégé of the real life Zumoto. As far as I know, they're really good friends, and that's their sensei-student relationship, just like Zukuari and Shiki.

-Rinkashi is a girl who lives down the road from me. I was originally planning on having her be the granddaughter of Gaara, and Shukaku was resealed into _her_, but she said she'd rather be Baki's granddaughter. At the pool one day, with me, Zukuari, and Zumoto, she decided that she wanted to be a hunter-nin from Suna. Although it was never revealed in the story, she's the daughter of Haku's (original character) sister and Baki's son.

-Chirimoto is based on my BEST FRIEND!! He doesn't like the fact that I made him a Suna-nin, but I think he's happy that he gets to be a Sannin, just like me. Anyway, I made him the Gobi because I needed more characters to be Jin Chuuriki. However, I couldn't find people to be the others, so in the story, seven of them were already captured. Talk about skipping around. Anyway, I'm not sure why, but I completely gave him a different personality than the real life. The real life is funny, loud, and silly, but Chirimoto is pretty serious, if you ask me.

-Shimotu, even though he never made an appearance in the story, is the leader of the group that my friend and I are going to be president and vice president of. He's pretty awesome, we decided he was our cell leader, just because.

I don't really feel like listing the Neo-Akatsuki. Anyway, I probably missed a lot of points in my story, like how Uchiha Chirimoto ended up a Suna nin. Actually, Jon, the character Chirimoto is based off of, is going to write a spin-off of my story, and his is about the Sunagakure Sannin: he, Rinkashi, and someone who they haven't decided yet. I think he'll keep the same reasons when he writes his. You should all read it when you get the chance.

A sequel? I don't think so. I don't think I could write a sequel to this, I know I won't like how it turns out. My friend (Zukuari) might be writing it, I'm not sure yet.

For the Jutsus and the hand signs corresponding with them…I do not sit and watch the anime and slow down the speed of it so I can memorize the seals. I researched, and found a list of some Jutsus, and copied and pasted it onto Microsoft Word. Anyway, I've been finding more that aren't on the list, and I've been updating my version of it. I don't feel like subscribing to a forum to add the moves I find, so I keep them to myself and my friends.

Wow, I actually expected to be typing more on this, but I can't think of anything else to tell you, except THANK YOU!!

Please, leave a review! Right now, I only have FOUR!! One is from me, and the other three are all from Chirimoto. I would love reviews, I read them all.

Thank you,

Slavetomyownwill


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